The masterful builder delivered again.
Coach Steve Carrera arrived on the Orange Lutheran boys water polo scene in 2012 with the reputation of being a program builder.
He guided a young Northwood program in 2006 to a CIF Division 1 runner-up finish and then grew Concordia into a team that beat established Division 1 contenders.
This fall, the labor of his work surfaced again.
Carrera led a third-year Orange Lutheran program, with just one key senior, from being unranked in the preseason to several benchmarks, including a trip to the CIF Division 1 quarterfinals.
For his efforts, Carrera is the Register’s boys water polo coach of the year, an honor he also claimed at Northwood.
“We want to be considered one of the top teams and I think we’ve done that,” Carrera said of Orange Lutheran. “We had a lot of young talent that mixed with more young talent and the chemistry really happened quickly.”
The Lancers (20-8) made their first major splash at the South Coast Tournament, where they finished third in the challenging, early-season event. Orange Lutheran defeated Laguna Beach and Newport Harbor back-to-back to reach the semifinals.
“Those are the kind of wins that programs outside the big four or five wait their entire careers for,” Carrera said.
The Lancers, comprised of mostly freshmen and sophomores, tied Santa Margarita and Servite for second in the Trinity League. The Lancers fell to eventual Division 1 champion Harvard-Westlake of Studio City, 22-8, in the quarterfinals but set a strong foundation with freshmen Ash Molthen, Matt Kacura and Garrett Zaan.
Carrera cites the support of the school’s administration and his brother, associate head coach Ed Carrera, as key ingredients to the Lancers’ success. He also stresses a faith-based journey and the importance of having leaders such as senior Collin See.
“He really was the glue,” Carrera said of See. “(We had) young guns with a leader.”
And a masterful builder on the pool deck.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
