The CIF Southern Section boys water polo playoffs ended on Saturday, Nov. 15. Here’s a recap of all the action within the brackets involving teams within the LA Daily News coverage area via cifss.org.
OPEN DIVISION
Oaks Christian
The Lions went 6-0 in the Marmonte League, earning themselves a spot in Open Division play. The Open Division worked differently from the other divisions, as teams were tasked with playing in a round-robin format, facing the other three teams in their respective pools.
Oaks Christian went 2-2 in pool play and eventually found themselves in the semifinals against Corona Del Mar. The team fought to earn a spot in the finals, but lost to Corona Del Mar 10-6.
Corona Del Mar held Oaks Christian to only three goals through the first three periods and at one point led 5-1.
Open Division winner: Newport Harbor
Corona Del Mar would go on to play Newport Harbor, losing 10-3 in the finals.
DIVISION 1
Harvard-Westlake
After going undefeated in the Mission League, the Wolverines’ sights were set on a Division 1 state championship as they entered the playoffs. They looked good in the first two rounds, beating Foothill and Westlake by scores of 13-12 and 17-11, respectively, but like Oaks Christian, Harvard-Westlake fell in the semifinals, losing to Mater Dei, 12-8.
Mater Dei’s Dante D’Sa, Asa Chan and Nicholas Valente each had three goals against Harvard-Westlake, while Morgan Crichton had nine saves and scored a goal.
Division 1 winner: Loyola
Mater Dei lost to Loyola in the finals, 9-2.
Division 2
Royal
The Highlanders entered the playoffs hot, being 7-3 in their last 10. Royal kept the hot streak going in the first round, beating ML King 11-10, but the dream of a state championship was cut short a match later. Royal lost in Round 2 to Redondo Union 12-11.
In the win over ML King, Royal’s Marco Sanfelippo led the way with five goals. He scored the game-winning goal after Noah Conley drew a penalty with under a minute left.
Division 2 winner: Capistrano Valley
Redondo Union made a run all the way to the Division 2 Final Four, but lost to the eventual champions, Capistrano Valley.
Capistrano Valley beat Damien in the final 9-8.
Division 3
Notre Dame
Despite finishing third in the Mission League, Notre Dame made a run in the playoff bracket all the way to the semifinals. Notre Dame picked up wins over Villa Park, Trabuco Hills and Hoover – ultimately losing to Temecula Valley in the semifinals, 12-11.
A promising finish for the program after missing the playoffs entirely just a season ago.
Burbank
Head coach David Arakelyan led his team into the playoffs with a 12-13 record. Burbank beat Agoura 13-9 and Camarillo 13-10 in Round 2. It all came to an end for the Bulldogs in the quarterfinals, as they lost to Bonita, 13-10.
In Round 2 against Camarillo, Avvo Ilangesyan led the way with six goals for Burbank. Another key member of the team was goaltender Dion Keshishyan, who had 17 saves in the same game.
Division 3 Winner: Bonita
Bonita went on to the finals against Temecula Valley, beating them 10-9.