Mustangs stampede Estancia

COSTA MESA — Robert Grayeli said he thinks good team defense leads to good offense.

He couldn’t have been more accurate on Wednesday. The first-year Costa Mesa High boys’ water polo coach watched that cycle run 26 times.

The Mustangs had plenty of both components in their 26-5 win over rival Estancia at Costa Mesa. It was the Orange Coast League opener for both teams.

Juniors Sam Edman and Skyler Twohig each scored six goals for Costa Mesa in the rout, with senior two-meter player John Roche adding five.

“We used to throw the ball in to [Roche] and cross our fingers,” Grayeli said. “Now, we’re throwing it into John, but we’re getting a drive coming through or getting something from [Edman] or [Twohig] on the outside. Most importantly, they’re coming together.”

Costa Mesa (3-3) got on the board early, scoring five goals in the first five minutes. The Eagles’ Tyler Wayman and Ramin Tasbihchi also had goals during that time, but Estancia (0-5) fell behind 6-2, after the first quarter.

Estancia’s Josh Young scored the first of his two penalty-shot goals midway through the second quarter, pulling the Eagles within, 8-3. But, Costa Mesa responded with 12 unanswered goals, a streak that stretched into the fourth quarter and gave the Mustangs a 20-3 lead.

“Too big, too strong, too fast,” Estancia Coach John Carpenter said of Costa Mesa. “We’re just a team that doesn’t have a lot of varsity experience. We’ll see how it goes as the season goes on, but they’re not going to give up. They played the whole game today.”

The Mustangs scored many of their goals on the counterattack, which was made possible by solid defensive work by twin sophomores Cody and Dustin Serrano and long passes from goalie Scott Neslage.

“We needed to come out strong,” Roche said. “In the first and second [quarters], we got a big lead, then we focused mainly on defense. The guys stepped up really well, hitting those outside shots when they were dropping off me [in the two-meter area].”

Grayeli said Neslage, a senior, has become more vocal lately. He was also aggressive on Wednesday, often diving up to steal the ball from an Estancia player in front of the net.

“In the last two weeks, I think he’s really realized that ‘Hey, it’s my senior year,’” Grayeli said. “He has senior leadership, and when he wants to play, he’s definitely a top-five goalie in Orange County. And he’s not shy about coming out and jumping on people.”

There was a bit of controversy near the end of the game. Carpenter, in his 27th year at Estancia, said he felt Costa Mesa was running up the score.

“Seventeen, 18, 19 goals would’ve been fine, but they were firing away at the end and I didn’t think it was necessary,” Carpenter said.

The Mustangs did score 17 of their 26 goals after halftime, but Grayeli said he stopped telling his team to counterattack in the third quarter.

“I told them to pull back and stop countering, and we were still scoring,” Grayeli said. “At that point, what can you do? You’ve got to continue to play the game.

“[Estancia] has to play defense, too,” he added. “A couple of times we went down and they weren’t even guarding us.”

Costa Mesa plays against Sage Hill at Corona del Mar on Wednesday. Grayeli said it’s a big game, since one of the two teams will likely be the Orange Coast League’s second CIF Southern Section Division II playoff representative behind Laguna Beach.

“We wanted to come out and beat Estancia because they’re our crosstown rivals,” Edman said. “I think it’s a good lead-in for what’s to come in league … I think we’ll do well.”

Orange Coast League

Costa Mesa 26, Estancia 5

Score by Quarters

Estancia 2 1 0 2 — 5 Costa Mesa 6 3 8 9 — 26

Estancia -- Young 2, Tasbihchi, Wayman, Crosson. Saves -- Lux 8, Wayman 3, Mickelson 1.

Costa Mesa -- Edman 6, Twohig 6, Roche 5, Millian 3, D. Serrano 3, C. Serrano 1, Carbajal 1, Pham 1. Saves -- Neslage 6.