Mater Dei’s boys water polo team played well Saturday but still had two regular-season streaks snapped by Harvard-Westlake of Studio City.
Morio Saito, Ben Hallock, Duncan Froomer and Evan Rosenfeld each scored twice and Anthony Ridgley added 13 saves as the Wolverines defeated Mater Dei, 10-8, in the finals of the Santa Barbara Invitational.
The Monarchs (4-1), ranked No. 1 in Orange County, were the tournament’s three-time defending champion and had captured 13 consecutive regular-season tournaments dating to 2009.
“For this time of year, it was a high-level final,” Mater Dei coach Chris Segesman said in a text. “Both teams had chances. Harvard-Westlake capitalized on theirs.”
Freshman Jackson Seybold scored four goals, including three on the power-play, and goalie Jonathan Van De Velde made nine saves for the Monarchs.
Last season, Harvard-Westlake snapped Mater Dei’s run of three consecutive CIF Division 1 titles by defeating the Monarchs, 9-6, in the final.
Both teams were shorthanded for Saturday’s final. Mater Dei played without swift attacker Matthew Payne (ACT testing). The Wolverines (6-0) were without attacker Johnny Hooper and center Raphael Raede.
Hooper, an All-CIF pick last season, received a misconduct in a 15-6 victory against Loyola of Los Angeles in the semifinals.
“It was a great early test,” Harvard-Westlake coach Brian Flacks said. “It is always nice to win a championship but this is not our ultimate goal this season. We’re excited to get back to training and continuing to improve.”
Mater Dei defeated Laguna Beach, 15-9, in the other semifinal. Loyola defeated the Breakers, 10-2, in the third-place match while Huntington Beach placed fifth. Newport Harbor finished seventh.
In the seventh-place game:
Newport Harbor 11, Los Osos 4: Clay Davison scored four goals for the Sailors at Santa Barbara. “It was a really good tournament for us,” Newport Harbor interim coach Marco Palazzo said. “We improved a lot.”
In the Segerstrom tournament:
Woodbridge 14, Segerstrom 7: Nick Giberson, Rhodri John and Kevin Park each scored three goals as the Warriors defeated the Jaguars in the finals.
