Schow-time leads Eagles

COSTA MESA — Preston Schow is new to the Estancia High boys’ water polo team this year.

Before transferring from Mater Dei, Schow was certain about two things. Who the Eagles’ crosstown rival was and how Costa Mesa has owned Estancia in the pool.

Schow is doing his best to change things.

The junior scored a career-high five goals Wednesday, lifting Estancia to a 10-6 Orange Coast League victory, the program’s first in league against the Mustangs in seven years.

Schow just did what longtime Estancia Coach John Carpenter asked for before the pivotal match.

“I told him, ‘If you can put in a few goals, that would probably be the difference,’” Carpenter said. “I told him, ‘They are going to key on Charlie Umansky. They know who Charlie is.’ ”

Costa Mesa now knows who Schow is. The former junior varsity player at Mater Dei can score, too.

The utility player answered the call for the Eagles (13-6, 1-1 in league) when they needed someone to respond before the Mustangs (8-13, 1-1) ran away with the match early on.

Every which way a player can score in the water, Schow did. He fired from the outside. He went backdoor. He scored on a five-meter penalty shot.

Schow produced a goal in every period, except the second. The three goals he recorded in the third gave Estancia a 7-5 lead going into the final seven minutes.

With no bench and a starter out due to misconduct, Costa Mesa was in trouble.

Estancia took advantage and it’s inching closer to a second-place finish in league. It’s a huge improvement from the past, finishing near the bottom.

Costa Mesa placed runner-up last year. With two league games remaining for both teams, one is comfortably staying above water, while the other is struggling.

The Mustangs looked like they were at a disadvantage the longer the match went. They had six field players competing, but it seemed Estancia played with a six-on-five advantage in the second half. The Eagles outscored Costa Mesa, 7-2, in the last two periods.

The Mustangs found themselves in a similar situation the last time they played Estancia. During a consolation game at the Western Tournament last month, Carpenter said the Mustangs competed with four field players.

“The score was actually, 4-4, halfway through the third quarter,” Carpenter said before “Mesa had two kids get kicked out and [it] had no subs.

“We ended up winning, but not really.”

That nonleague match meant very little in the standings. Wednesday’s match was the vital one.

After losing its league opener to defending champion Laguna Beach, Estancia aimed to beat its rival for the first time since 2002.

The Eagles were the visiting team, even though they played the match at Estancia. Costa Mesa Coach Justin Taylor said the Mustangs are getting a new 50-meter pool built, which is expected to be ready by next school year.

Until then, Costa Mesa has practiced at Orange Coast College and played each of its matches on the road.

“This has been a difficult season,” said Taylor, who lost his top three scorers from last season’s squad to graduation. His goalie the past two seasons isn’t attending Costa Mesa this year.

“We’re really inexperienced this year and not having our own pool and having limited practice time [has affected us]. We only get to practice two hours a day. We usually like to run four-hour practices. We have an inexperienced team that needs those four hours a day.

“There are a lot of things I can say about this game. Plain and simple, they outplayed us. They deserved to win.”

Estancia goalie Conner Graham made so many saves he stopped counting.

One number mattered to him.

“My dad went to Mesa and he was a water polo player,” Graham said of Bill. “I’ve always wanted to beat his team [in league].”

Graham made sure to approach his father afterward, not before thanking Schow for the chance to tell Bill, “We beat your team!”