Laguna Beach boys’ water polo loses steam against Mira Costa
The Laguna Beach High boys’ water polo team lost 13 seniors from the squad that came within a play of winning the CIF Southern Section Division 1 title last year.
This year’s Breakers had just two seniors, goalkeeper Carter McKinzie and attacker Sam Skenderian.
Each of them were thrust into a team captain role this year for coach Camron Hauer’s side.
“That’s one of the things that I’m most stoked about this year,” Hauer said. “Sam and Carter, I watched them step up from young boys to young men. That was kind of cool to see. They took on leadership responsibilities, texting me after practice like, ‘I think this could have gone better,’ calling me, trying to see what was going on with the team dynamic. They developed tremendously.”
The young Breakers seemed to be on the verge of pulling an upset Wednesday night in a Division 1 quarterfinal match against No. 3-seeded Manhattan Beach Mira Costa.
But the Mustangs charged back, earning a 15-10 victory at Sage Hill School to end Laguna Beach’s season.
Skenderian had three goals, tying him with junior center Max Sauers for the team lead.
“It’s my last game ever,” Skenderian said after the match, as tears started to form in his eyes. “It’s a brotherhood. There’s no other sport like it. The older kids talking to the freshman, always hanging out with the freshmen, it’s like you look up to the kids who are older than you. It’s always setting a good example for the kids under you. It’s amazing. All of these boys are my best buds.”
Laguna Beach (17-15) led visiting Mira Costa (18-11) by a 7-4 score at halftime. During the break between the first and second quarters, Hauer told his team that it had played the best defensive quarter of the season.
The Mustangs had an answer, paced by Flynn Guenther and his seven goals. Mira Costa outscored Laguna Beach 11-3 in the second half.
“We came in with a lot of fire, and when you’re playing at close to 100% capacity, eventually that kind of falls off,” Hauer said. “I think that’s what happened … They just kept pushing the pace. They were being aggressive too, leaving early and challenging our guys to shoot. I think the first half, we were the aggressors. In the second half, they were the aggressors.”
The Breakers took a 10-9 lead on Skenderian’s off-speed shot from the outside early in the fourth quarter. But Mira Costa scored five straight goals, two by Deacon Lesser, to take control of the match.
Mira Costa will host Huntington Beach, an 11-10 upset winner over No. 2-seeded Long Beach Wilson, in a Division 1 semifinal match Tuesday at 5 p.m.
“Laguna’s well-coached, they’ve always had a tradition of good teams,” Mira Costa coach Jon Reichardt said. “I just think at this point, we’re probably a little bit more experienced and a little bit better conditioned. I think it showed in the second half. Our conditioning is paying off right now. We scored like three [counterattacks] in the fourth quarter, and that’s hard to do if you’re not in good shape.”
Junior Dylan Williams had two goals and a match-high four steals Wednesday night for Laguna Beach. Junior Lucas Rose and sophomore Dane Seybold also scored.
Breakers junior goalkeeper Max Jakie, who stepped in when McKinzie went out with a shoulder injury midway through the season, had six saves and a pair of steals.
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