Griffins master Mustangs

Bryce Alderton

A season full of achievements ended with, perhaps, the harshest

lesson of all for the Costa Mesa boys water polo team in Tuesday’s

CIF Southern Section Division II quarterfinal against powerful Los

Alamitos.

The Mustangs, who won their first CIF playoff contest in seven

years with last week’s 10-6 triumph over La Habra, which came on the

heels of a Golden West League championship, met their match and then

some against the second-seeded Griffins.

The Sunset League champions scored early and often and reached

their sixth straight section semifinal with a 19-3 victory against

the Mustangs at Golden West College.

Mesa junior Kyle Thorsness scored his team-leading two goals in

the fourth quarter, but the Griffins (23-6) had the game securely in

hand. Los Alamitos entered the fourth quarter leading, 15-1.

The Griffins scored the game’s first seven goals before Mesa

senior Evan Spencer scored on the man-advantage with 4 minutes, 9

seconds left in the first half. The Mustangs scored twice on five

6-on-5 scenarios.

Senior Adam Adamowicz tallied three assists for the Mustangs

(19-7), who simply ran into the better team, Mesa first-year coach

Tim Postiff said.

“They are 11 deep whereas we are three deep,” said Postiff,

referring to Los Alamitos’ bench. “They were substituting three or

four guys at a time and it didn’t make a difference.”

Los Alamitos’ senior driver Scott Davidson, who has scored more

than 100 goals this season, added to that total with four more while

teammate Clayton Snyder also finished with four.

The Griffins also employed a swarming defense that made entry

passes into set very difficult.

“They crashed the gaps and they were fast,” Mesa senior Adam

Douglas, who tallied one steal, said. “They are the toughest team

we’ve faced all year.” Senior Sergio Hernandez added Mesa’s other

steal.

Douglas added that the Mustangs were nervous and forced passes

they might not normally make.

The Griffins had eight steals and capitalized on several

counterattacks.

Eight different Griffins scored.

“Every guy on the perimeter could shoot from the outside and hit

the corners,” Postiff said. “It eliminated us from dropping and

opened up two meters. [Los Alamitos’ Coach Dave Carlson] is a great

coach and ran [the game to perfection].”

The Griffins normally play their home games at the USA Water Polo

National Aquatic Center in Los Alamitos, but the facility was already

booked for another function Tuesday, Carlson said.

The Mustangs remained visibly upbeat, though, despite the margin

of defeat.

Players shared smiles and the occasional laugh as they dried off

before boarding the bus.

“It’s nice to be able to experience winning and there have been

different attitudes [this season],” said Postiff, who assisted former

coach Bob Shupp for two seasons. “No one expected us to win a

first-round game and they pulled through.”

Adamowicz, Douglas, Hernandez, goalkeeper Matt Jaroslawski, who

made three saves, Spencer and Luke Yellin, all played their final

game for Mesa.

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CIF Division II

Quarterfinal Los Alamitos 19, Costa Mesa 3 Score by Quarters

Mesa 0 1 0 2 -- 3

Los Al 6 3 6 4 -- 19

Mesa -- Thorsness 2, Spencer 1. Saves --

Jaroslawski 3.

Los Al -- Davidson 4, Snyder 4, Brook 3, Levin 3,

Tsim 2, Miloslavich 1, Kagan 1, Brady 1. Saves --

Simon 5.

*--*