Laguna’s polo team treads water

Locals win three matches but finish fifth at WinterFest tournament.The Laguna Beach Age Group Water Polo boys’ eighth-grade team won three of four matches last weekend to place fifth at the WinterFest tournament.

The tournament, hosted by Los Alamitos, featured various division tournament play at pools throughout Long Beach.

Laguna’s eighth-grade team played its matches at Cal State Long Beach in division play involving 16 teams.

Robbie Quellmalz led Laguna in scoring during the tournament with 12 goals, followed closely by David Brunner, who posted 11 goals.

Laguna 7, KAI Breakers 4

In its tournament opener, Laguna took an early lead and never trailed South Bay.

Quellmalz scored three unanswered goals in the first quarter. Brunner scored three goals in the second quarter, including a score from five-meters out and the other from mid-pool to just beat the halftime buzzer.

Strong defensive play from Spencer Dodson, Cole Kennedy, Nile Koegel and Robert Chew, along with four saves from goalie Hunter French, limited KAI’s offense to two goals in the first half.

Laguna again was strong defensively in the third quarter, this time, with Jack Clark, Zach Riegler, Brent Donenfeld and Casey Connors keeping KAI out of scoring position. Robert Chew scored in the fourth quarter to complete Laguna’s victory.

Gold Coast 10, Laguna 6

Laguna couldn’t overcome a three-goal halftime deficit, and dropped what turned out to be its only loss in tournament play.

Gold Coast took a 2-0 lead after one quarter, but David Brunner scored early in the second quarter on a free throw, then again on a pass from Casey Connors to keep Laguna close. Gold Coast, however, built a 5-2 lead by the break.

Gold Coast, despite being pressured defensively by Connors, Robert Chew and Derek and Kirk Knott, was able to rack up three more goals in the third quarter to pad its lead.

Quellmalz scored before the quarter was over, then again in the fourth quarter, when Brunner scored his final two goals of the match.

Laguna 11, Esperanza EAST 6

Steals by Spencer Dodson, Casey Connors and goalie Hunter French in the opening quarter, led to offensive opportunities for Laguna in its Sunday morning win over Esperanza EAST.

David Brunner and Robbie Quellmalz scored in the first quarter to give Laguna a 2-1 lead. Quellmalz scored once and Dodson twice in the second period, and the Laguna defense limited Esperanza to a single goal in taking a 5-2 lead at the intermission. Solid defensive teamwork kept Esperanza scoreless in the third quarter. Quellmalz surprised everyone, including the Esperanza goalie, by netting a goal from mid-pool.

In the fourth quarter, Derek Knott scored twice and Dodson, Brunner and Cole Kennedy each once for Laguna.

Laguna 9, Huntington 2

David Brunner, Robbie Quellmalz and Spencer Dodson each scored twice in the second half as Laguna pulled away from Huntington to capture fifth place.

A mid-pool lob into the goal by Brunner allowed Laguna to earn a 1-1 tie after one quarter. In the second quarter, Laguna’s defense kept Huntington scoreless while Brunner added another score on a backhanded shot, and Quellmalz again was able to score from mid-pool.

Laguna completed its second-half domination with two saves by Hunter French.