Irvine boys water polo goalie Preston Fox credited the passionate halftime message from Coach Ray Wong. Both coaches focused on the counterattack. But either way, Irvine found a way to rally Tuesday night for a rare playoff victory.
The Vaqueros scored three counterattack goals in the third period and shut out visiting Long Beach Millikan in the second half en route to a 9-4 victory in a CIF-SS Division 1 wild-card playoff match at the Woollett pool in Irvine.
It was Irvine’s first CIF triumph ince 2001 and second in program history.
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Blog: Albano’s playoff predictions
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Travis Gellerman (four goals), Micah Kamai (three steals) and Jacob Lee (two goals) scored on the counter in the third for Irvine (19-8), which trailed, 4-3, at halftime.
But the Vaqueros didn’t overcome an ordinary one-goal deficit. Long Beach Millikan’s Andrew Ingram scored on a mid-pool shot at the buzzer to give the Rams (15-10) their first lead.
But Irvine recovered and grabbed the momentum for good in the first five minutes of the third to advance to Wednesday’s first-round match at top-seeded Harvard-Westlake of Studio City (25-0).
“Coach Ray definitely got us pumped (at halftime),” said Fox, who made 12 saves, including a redeeming penalty block in the fourth.
Wong said he wanted to push the counterattack in the second half and inserted two of his fastest players: Oscar Nomura and Lee.
Lee scored 54 seconds into the third on a counterattack and a wide-open Gellerman added another counter strike on a pass by Nomura a minute later to give the Vaqueros the lead for good, 5-4.
“They’re a fast team,” Millikan coach Danely Smith said of Irvine.
Millikan went 1 for 9 on the man-advantage; Irvine 2 for 6.
In other wild-card games:
In Division 3:
Aliso Niguel 12, Schurr of Montebello 2: Ben Argersinger scored four goals to pace the visiting Wolverines (15-11), who play Royal on Wednesday.
Sage Hill 14, Alhambra 5: Chris Wan scored eight goals and Ethan Nobles added four at Granada Park to lead the visiting Lightning, who take on Murrieta Valley on Wednesday.
In Division 4:
Troy 10, San Luis Obispo 6: Warren Allen made 12 saves at Fullerton College to lead the host Warriors (17-14), who take on Crescenta Valley on Thursday.
In Division 6:
Tustin 16, Villanova Prep of Ojai 7: Ian Tesdall scored seven goals to lead the host Tillers (16-10), who play Temescal Canyon on Thursday.
In Division 7:
Los Amigos 10, La Sierra of Riverside 8: Celso Sanchez made 18 saves at Garden Grove to lead the host Lobos (9-16), who play Baldwin Park on Thursday.
Granite Hills of Apple Valley 17, Katella 5: Taylor Cobbs scored seven goals for the visiting Cougars, who won in their postseason debut.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
