San Clemente Holds On for Water Polo Victory
Despite some sloppy moments and shooting errors, San Clemente held off a fourth-quarter rally by North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake to win, 9-8, in a quarterfinal game of the Southern California boys’ water polo tournament Friday at Heritage Park in Irvine.
“We made a lot of mental errors,†San Clemente Coach Marc Parker said. “We pretty much controlled the game, but we missed too many shots.â€
Junior Josh Hewko was once again a key component to San Clemente’s success. The driver scored five goals, including two in the fourth quarter to give the Tritons a 9-5 lead.
Harvard-Westlake scored three goals in the last 2 minutes 13 seconds, but its rally fell short.
Though San Clemente, ranked second in the county, missed 19 of its 28 shots, the Tritons were able to capitalize on man-up situations, with four of its nine goals coming with the man advantage.
Cameron Bassett had three steals and a goal, Pat McCann scored twice and Andy Janis added a goal.
Brian Ault scored six goals and goalie Joe Axelrad had nine saves for Harvard-Westlake (10-3).
San Clemente (9-3), which pounded Davis, 16-8, in an earlier first-round game, will play top-ranked Newport Harbor in a semifinal game today at 2:50.
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