IRVINE – Laguna Beach boys water polo coach Ethan Damato believes senior Jack Dodson is the best player in the Breakers’ playoff division.
On Wednesday, he showed why.
Assigned to defend two of the top scorers in Orange County in Capistrano Valley’s Austin Sechrest and Jacob Rendina, Dodson helped limit the pair to just five goals while scoring six himself to lead the top-seeded Breakers to a 16-7 victory in a CIF-Southern Section Division 3 semifinal playoff game at Woollett Aquatics Center.
“Jack was fantastic,” said Damato. “He had a load defensively tonight and he was still able to score for us.”
The victory advances Laguna Beach (23-7) to its first section title match since 2011 when it won the Division 3 championship. The last two years, the Breakers lost to Agoura in the Division 2 semifinals.
Capistrano Valley coach Steve Yancey said the Breakers’ experience in big games played a huge factor Wednesday. The Cougars have not gone this far into the postseason in nearly two decades.
“Of the four teams in the semifinals, we had (a roster with) the least big game experience,” he said. “We had some trouble answering the need to play at a different level tonight.”
Laguna Beach led from start to finish, and made good on three consecutive 6-on-5 situations in the first quarter to take a 4-1 lead. Dodson tallied three goals in the second quarter as the Breakers extended its lead to 9-4 at halftime. That lead grew to 14-6 at the end of the third before both coaches emptied their benches in the fourth.
“I thought our defensive effort was great. You really have to work hard to stop Rendina and Sechrest,” said Damato.
Sechrest and Rendina — both 100-goal scorers this season — were held to three and two goals respectively.
“We told the kids that (Laguna Beach) was going to double up Rendina and Sechrest defensively, and we still tried to force the ball into them,” said Yancey. “We just didn’t know how to deal with that type of defensive pressure.”
Capistrano Valley (19-12) committed 21 turnovers, compared to just 11 for Laguna Beach. Breakers goalie Garret Hartley recorded just four saves, but had a game-high five steals.
Laguna Beach co-captain Cade Baldridge contributed five goals, while Akio Anderson and Jakob Colladay each had two.
The triumph advances the Breakers to Saturday’s championship match against Montebello at Woollett Aquatics Center. The time of the match will be announced Wednesday by the CIF-SS.
“We’re glad to be back,” said Damato. “I thhnk we’re playing our best water polo of the season. We’re going to give whoever we play a heck of a game.”
Yancey said despite the loss, the season was not a loss.
“This was a good steppingstone for us. Hopefully, in the future, we will know how to respond in big games like tonight’s.”
