San Clemente Upsets No. 2 Foothill in Water Polo

San Clemente’s Josh Hewko said slow starts had been hurting the Tritons since the water polo season began.

But Thursday at Tustin High, they took a quick lead and held on to upset second-ranked Foothill, 11-10, in nonleague boys’ water polo.

Hewko scored four goals, including the winner with 3:48 to play. He was the catalyst as fourth-ranked San Clemente took a 4-1 lead after the first quarter.

“We worked really hard all week,” said Hewko, a junior who plays the driver position. “We didn’t want to come out slow this time.”

As it turned out, San Clemente’s early goals proved to be the key to their victory as Foothill came back strong in the third quarter, scoring five goals.

“Every game we’ve played, we had to come back,” San Clemente Coach Marc Parker said. “This time they had to catch us. And they almost did.”

Junior Blake Seymour led the Knights’ charge in the third quarter with four goals. But every time Foothill scored, San Clemente answered to maintain a one-goal cushion.

Junior Pat McCann had two goals for San Clemente. Andy Janis, Chris Cupito, Blake Anderson, Cameron Bassett and Rob Yeilding scored for the Tritons. Craig Smith had six saves for San Clemente (7-2). Foothill is 6-2.