Breakers finish as runner-up
IRVINE — Laguna Beach High boys’ water polo coach Trevor Lyle kept his wife Allyson close to him Saturday afternoon at Woollett Aquatics Center, trying to keep her warm.
Lyle grabbed a thick jacket in the chilly weather for Allyson, who has been battling cancer for more than four years. This summer the Lyles learned that the cancer had spread to her lungs, spine and pelvis.
Trevor Lyle and the Breakers had to deal with more adversity in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs, from an incident-filled quarterfinal road game against Hoover last weekend that the referees called early to Wednesday’s semifinals against Murrieta Valley, when junior standout Sebastian Jacobs injured his neck late in the game.
The top-seeded Breakers somehow kept their spirits and their heads above water all season, defeating every Division 2 team in their path. That remained true until Saturday, when third-seeded Santa Margarita held on for a 6-4 victory in the championship match to earn its first CIF title in program history.
“This team has battled since the beginning of this year, and there’s been a lot of obstacles along the way,” Trevor Lyle said. “I’m really proud of everything they accomplished this year, and where they got to. Obviously, you’d like to finish on a higher note, but I’m still incredibly proud of these boys.”
Allyson looked up at her husband.
“Second place is a high note,” she said.
It was a good reminder for the Breakers (21-10), who were trying to win their second CIF title in three years and first in Division 2. But they fell behind Santa Margarita, 5-2, after three quarters in their quest to win.
“We were jittery and I think we weren’t patient enough,” said Laguna Beach senior co-captain Judge Washer, who accounted for all of his team’s goal total with two goals himself and two assists. “We weren’t really running any systems that we normally run. We were just not playing like ourselves.”
Still, the Breakers, who had beaten Santa Margarita (26-7) in overtime in the teams’ first meeting this season, had a rally in them. After junior center Larsen McCarroll drew his third exclusion at two meters, Jacobs converted the power play goal on Washer’s assist with 6:08 remaining.
A couple of minutes later, Washer’s precision pass went right to the hand of Laguna sophomore Colton Gregory, who put the shot away inside to pull Laguna within 5-4 with 2:57 left.
The Breakers had chances to tie the score, especially after Jacobs made a field block in the final two minutes to stuff a Santa Margarita power play. But Washer’s shot from the outside was field blocked away by Brock Petersen with less than 50 seconds remaining.
Santa Margarita’s AJ Rossman then scored his first goal on the counterattack, sneaking the ball past Laguna senior keeper Gordon Pike (six saves and three steals) to put the game away with just 35 seconds left.
“Our guys seemed a little tired today,” Trevor Lyle said. “I think the emotions kind of got to them. Not as much motion as we usually like to have in our front court ... but you’ve got to take your hat off to Santa Margarita. They play a very good single-player zone or two-player zone defense, and their goalie is very solid. It’s a tough team to score on.”
Senior co-captain Camden Benson had three steals and won three sprints for the Breakers, who also got a steal and a field block from junior Peter Weiland.
Senior center Jack Baumgardner had two goals, drew four exclusions and made three field blocks for Coach Jeremy Laster’s Eagles. Brock Petersen also made three field blocks, and he and twin brother Chase each scored a goal and combined for seven steals. Junior goalie Noah Hodge made nine saves.
After the game, many of the Breakers offered hugs instead of handshakes to the Santa Margarita players. Washer said the players from both teams were very familiar because they grew up playing together in club water polo.
Hugs at the end of a difficult season just might have been what was called for.
“Everything that we’ve had to go through has just brought our team closer,” Trevor Lyle said. “Our guys have banded together and stuck together with everything that’s happened. They kind of had to. A lot of negative things have been said about them, false things, so we had to stick together as a team.”
Added Washer: “I’m so proud of my teammates. We’ve conquered almost everything. Coming into this year, people didn’t think of us as a threat, but hands down we came out strong and really showed what we’re made of. I really wish we won this game to prove it to them even more, but we have to take this as a learning experience.”
