Sea Kings survive wild one, 17-14

Bryce Alderton

Halloween might still be a month away, but the Corona del Mar High

boys water polo team suffered quite a scare from visiting Edison

Tuesday.

The Chargers stormed back from an eight-goal deficit in the third

quarter, forcing overtime, before the Sea Kings tallied the game’s

final four goals for a 17-14 nonleague victory.

“That was fun,” said Tyler Kent, who scored two of CdM’s three

goals in the second three-minute overtime period and finished with a

team-high four scores.

Edison’s Travis Bee tallied a game-high six goals, including four

in the third quarter, after CdM (5-5) built its biggest lead at 12-4

with 4 minutes, 57 seconds left in the period.

The Chargers (4-8) responded by scoring 10 of the game’s next 11

goals, including taking their first lead at 14-13 on Trevor Dewitt’s

fourth goal with 2:17 left in the first three-minute overtime

session.

Tom Money answered for CdM with the tying goal -- his second of

the contest -- 31 seconds later and the teams ended the first

overtime tied at 14.

The Sea Kings then clamped down on defense, went on the

counterattack and escaped with victory.

Spencer Pirdy scored the game-winner for CdM when he gently

directed an entry pass from Scott Sanford for a 15-14 edge 54 seconds

into the second overtime.

Sanford and Kyle Hersh each added assists on CdM’s final two

goals, both scored by Kent.

“The nerves got going there,” Kent said. “I just decided to shoot

from the outside. No one else was doing it, so I thought it would

work.”

CdM Coach Sam Bailey said the Sea Kings’ scoring flourish to close

out the game came from more counterattacks.

“Our offense [Tuesday] was all run out of transition,” Bailey

said. “In the second half, we either had a turnover, an offensive

foul, or a missed shot that allowed Edison to come down and score on

many opportunities.”

The Chargers outscored the Sea Kings, 4-0, in the fourth quarter,

capitalizing on all of their 6-on-5 advantages.

Edison had a golden chance to add a fifth goal in the quarter on a

four-meter penalty shot.

But the Charger player hitched as he raised his arm to take the

shot. The ball never left his hand and the Sea Kings took over after

the turnover.

Michael Berry and Bryan Buhagiar each scored three goals while

Jacob Murphy, Hersh and Money each added two goals for the Sea Kings,

playing without senior two-meter standout Thomas Pearson, who

suffered a cut under his right eye during Tuesday’s contest against

Harvard-Westlake that required seven stitches, Bailey said.

Jamie Kline, making his varsity debut, made five saves in goal for

CdM while starter Gaston Sanford stopped three shots during stints in

the first half and overtime.

Bailey substituted often in the second half, trying to regain the

form his team enjoyed in gaining a 10-3 halftime edge.

“All of them practice, all of them are at the same level,” Bailey

said. “At some point, our desire to play defense and knowledge of how

to run an offense was shut down. A lot of Edison’s shots could have

been prevented long before they were ever taken. I was hoping to

change the lineups to get back into our defensive sets.

“It’s like football. If the defensive line is getting pushed and

pushed in the two-minute drill, at some point you have to dig in,

show some guts and make a stand. A lot of it is attitude, pride,

concentration and effort. At some point in the fourth quarter we lost

a number of elements from the game. It was a breakdown.

“Edison matched and even surpassed our intensity throughout.

Without a doubt, you could feel the energy and sense of pride.”

Edison Coach Diggy Riley said his team’s offensive outburst in the

second half started with defense.

“We were more aggressive guarding the set,” Riley said. “Our game

is not based on size, but quickness.”

The Sea Kings’ defense, however, held the Chargers scoreless in

the final overtime session.

Sanford and Money each finished with three steals while Hersh,

Pirdy and Kent each tallied two for the Sea Kings, who don’t play

again until the South Coast tournament begins Oct. 7.

*--*

Nonleague

Corona del Mar 17, Edison 14

Score by Quarters

Edison 2 1 6 4 1 0 -- 14

CdM 6 4 3 0 1 3 -- 17

Edison -- Bee 6, Dewitt 4, Smith 2, Sonne

1, Gardner 1. Saves -- Riley 11. CdM --

Kent 4, Buhagiar 3, Berry 3, Murphy 2,

Hersh 2, Money 2, Pirdy 1. Saves -- Kline

5, Sanford 3.

*--*