Villa Park Offense Doesn’t Slow Long Beach Wilson

It didn’t take long for Long Beach Wilson to adapt to Villa Park’s slow-down offense in a second-round Southern Section Division I boys’ water polo game Tuesday at El Toro High.

One quarter to be exact. And from then on, the top-seeded defending Division I champions had little trouble dispatching the Spartans, 15-6, to reach the semifinals.

“They tried to slow it down like they did against Foothill [two weeks ago]. But once we adapted and made changes to our offense, we were able to get things going,” Wilson Coach Ricardo Azevedo said.

Villa Park used its slow-down offense to keep the game close in the first quarter, with Wilson taking a 3-2 lead.

“We tried to slow it down, and it worked for a quarter. But after that, it was a different game,” Villa Park Coach Jeff Ehrlich said.

Wilson scored five goals in the second quarter, four in the third and three in the fourth.

“I’m very pleased with the way we were able to follow our game plan and stick to it. But I’m also proud of the way our defense played,” Azevedo said.

This is the second time Villa Park has played Long Beach Wilson this season. Last month, Wilson rolled, 18-7.

Senior Scott Miller scored five goals to lead Wilson (25-1) and sophomores Albert Garcia and Tony Azevedo each had three. Jason Robinson was outstanding in the box, making 13 saves before Abel Cannon replaced him in the fourth quarter.

Senior two-meter man Kyle Baumgarner had three goals and Wes Warner had two for Villa Park, which ended the season 19-10. Nick Pacelli also scored for the Spartans.

Wilson plays Capistrano Valley Saturday in the semifinals.