Los Al gets pushed aside in title game
Griffins lose Division II final
By Earl Williams
Staff writer
The game was wild and crazy as fans of Sunset League rivals Los Alamitos High
and Esperanza stomped, chanted, pointed fingers and waved signs for nearly
28 minutes.
But it was the Esperanza fans that kept cheering, after David Mills' last-attempt shot from the top of the Griffins' double triangle offense hit off the top of the cage and bounced straight up in the air as time expired, giving the Aztecs a 10-9 victory and the CIF Southern Section Division II title at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool on Monday night.
Just 44 seconds earlier, Vinnie Bauerlein's shot deflected off the fingertips of a Los Alamitos player, changed directions in the air and flew past goalkeeper Sam Draznin to break a 9-9 tie.
"I'm just mad about the outcome. We should have won,' Griffin Scott Davidson said. "I think they were a lot stronger than us, so they could push us out in the 2- meters. We did good most of the season, but we should have played better in this game.'
Los Alamitos (21-10) and Esperanza (23-10) ended the third quarter tied at 7. But John McConnell scored off a pass from teammate James Dale at 4:27 in the fourth to give the Aztecs an 8-7 advantage.
However, Davidson found the back of the net at 3:58 to tie the score, and Los Alamitos forged ahead when Steve Brook connected with 2:20 remaining.
"I thought we played well tonight,' Los Alamitos' Daniel Levin said. "Not being able to hear was a big factor in the game. We were pretty evenly matched teams. So we just wanted to shut them down on offense. Everyone played all out because this was the last game.'
"I was proud of my guys tonight for hanging in there. They did a good job,' Griffins coach Dave Carlson said. "We had a good season. Esperanza came and dominated the 2-meters on offense and defense. If you can control the 2- meters on both ends, you are going to win the game. I was just proud of my guys, considering that Esperanza dominated the 2-meters.
"We tried to drive in mismatches, but every guy we drove in, they just pushed our guys around. We tried to run our counterattack, which is our strength, but we weren't able to score as many goals. They were able to get more goals off their strength, which is the low post. We still had an opportunity to tie it up at the end. So I am proud of these guys. They fought their hearts out. They left everything in the pool tonight. Esperanza was just better.'
By DAN ALBANO
The Orange County Register
LONG BEACH - An Esperanza boys water polo team with nine core seniors completed a turnaround for the ages Monday night.
The Aztecs, who last season finished fifth in the Sunset League and missed the playoffs, stormed to the CIF-Southern Section-Toyota Division II title by stunning Sunset champion Los Alamitos, 10-9, in front of an estimated 2,000 singing and chanting fans at Belmont Plaza.
It was Esperanza's first section title under seventh-year coach Galen Diaz and the Aztecs' first title since its Division II crown in 1994.
In a match typical of play in the competitive Sunset League, the score was tied seven times, including four times in the first half. Seven players scored for Esperanza, including six seniors.
"I'm in la-la land," said Diaz, still wet from a celebration in the pool. "That's a (heck) of a senior group."
Fourth-seeded Esperanza (23-10) avenged a loss by the same score in league against No. 2 seed Los Alamitos (22-10) by getting clutch performances from its seniors in the final 90 seconds of the fourth period.
Senior Vinny Bauerlein, the hero of the Aztecs' triple sudden-death overtime victory against Marina in the semifinals, found the spotlight again by scoring twice in the final 1:27, the match's final two goals.
Known for his outside shooting, Bauerlein scored from 8 meters on a cross-cage shot into the upper corner to tie the score, 9-9, with 1:27 left.
Diaz then called timeout, and less than 20 seconds later, Bauerlein made a steal. With 46 seconds left, Bauerlein, who comes off the bench, scored the winning goal off a shot deflected in front of the goal by Los Alamitos.
"I got a lucky bounce," said Bauerlein, who scored the winner on a shot from mid-pool in the semifinals.
Los Alamitos called timeout, but Esperanza held on defense to close out the match. Senior James Dale deflected Los Alamitos' best attempt in the final 46 seconds, a center-cage attempt from the perimeter by Scott Davidson, who scored a game-high five goals. Dale pushed Davidson's shot over the goal. David Mills also got off a shot, but it bounced off the goal.
"We played well defensively," Diaz said.
Esperanza mostly played a press, which Diaz credited to the 2-meter defense of senior John McConnell against Los Alamitos center Clayton Snyder. McConnell, who didn't match up against Snyder in the league contest, was part of a defense that didn't allow Snyder a goal and allowed the sophomore four shots. Because Los Alamitos wasn't creating havoc in front of the goal, Diaz didn't have to drop extra defense to help.
"John McConnell has a huge heart," Diaz said. "He played like a maniac out there."