Laguna Beach boys’ water polo finishes as runner-up in Santa Barbara
- Share via
The Laguna Beach High boys’ water polo team came oh so close to winning the Santa Barbara Invitational for the first time in program history.
But the Breakers did not come back down Highway 101 on Saturday with their heads down, even after a tough 17-16 overtime loss to host Goleta Dos Pueblos in the tournament title match.
“This has been the best leadership team I’ve ever had,” Laguna Beach coach Camron Hauer said. “The seniors are doing a great job of just grinding, keeping people accountable, working hard. I don’t know if this is the most athletic team I’ve had, but it’s definitely the most bought in. It’s been really cool to see that if you work really hard, you do the right things, you play for your teammates and your friends, that good things happen.”
Junior center Warren Rootlieb led the Breakers (9-3) with five goals in the title match of the 24-team tournament. Senior Finn Leverty and junior Mason Jakle scored three each, while senior Zachary Hornstein also put in a pair of goals.
Lucas Neushul led Dos Pueblos with nine goals, including the game-winner with 52 seconds left in the second overtime period.
Laguna Beach also upset top-seeded Corona del Mar 17-16 in the semifinals earlier Saturday. Rootlieb had seven goals, and Hornstein and Ellis Minck each netted three.
Will Weir led CdM (7-2) with seven goals in the semifinal, and Blake Jurevich scored three. The Sea Kings rebounded to beat Beckman 16-10 in the third-place match.
Hauer said the Breakers took the tournament weekend as a good measuring stick for the season.
“This is where we should be all the time this year, if not better,” he said. “I think they took it as the new standard.”
Both Laguna Beach and CdM will compete in this weekend’s South Coast Tournament, which has 32 teams and includes CdM and Newport Harbor as host pools.
Cathedral Catholic, JSerra, Harvard-Westlake and Newport Harbor are the top four seeds for the tournament, which has semifinals scheduled for 10:40 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. Saturday at Newport Harbor High. The title match is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
