Orange Lutheran’s up-and-coming boys water polo team has accomplished plenty, but the Lancers made their biggest move in the Trinity League on Wednesday night.
Freshman left-hander Ash Molthen scored four of his five goals in the second half, and visiting No. 7 Orange Lutheran played stingy defense at 2 meters en route to a 9-6 victory against No. 10 Santa Margarita.
Orange Lutheran freshman Matt Kacura scored three first-half goals, and sophomore Jake Markle added a goal, three steals and a field block.
For the Lancers, in their second varsity season and third overall, it was their first league victory against Santa Margarita and put them in position to at least finish third in the challenging Division 1 league.
“It’s definitely the biggest win because it takes us another step in the Trinity League,” Orange Lutheran coach Steve Carrera said. “We still have a long way to go, but it’s definitely exciting to beat a good program like Santa Margarita. … We really want to alleviate the pressure of having to worry about the at-large bid (for the postseason).”
The Lancers (12-5, 1-1), who took third at the South Coast Tournament, calmly separated from the Eagles (14-4, 1-1) after the first half ended tied, 5-5.
In the third, Molthen scored with 4:13 left and added a counterattack strike with 1:10 remaining. He also scored he first goal of the fourth for an 8-5 lead.
“For lefties out there, he’s as good as they come,” Santa Margarita coach Paden Mitchell said of Molthen. “(He) definitely didn’t let the moment get the best of him. He got the best of the moment.”
The Lancers also crashed quickly on Eagles seniors Spencer Lupin and Sam Slobodien in the second half. The Eagles’ only goal in the final two periods came on a power play by Slobodien (three goals) with 3:21 left in the fourth.
Carrera praised sophomore Parker Killion for his defense against Slobodien as well as his team’s composure. “We were nervous (last week against Servite),” Carrera said. “In this game, it was, ‘OK, we got the jitters out’ now let’s play a good game.”
In the Sunset League:
Los Alamitos 8, No. 9 Newport Harbor 6: Trevor Lees and Paul Carey each scored three goals and Steve Mori made 10 saves to lead the visiting Griffins (8-9, 2-0) to their first victory against the Sailors (0-2, 6-15) since 2008.
In the Golden West League:
Segerstrom 11, Ocean View 9: David Molina scored five goals and Chris Sanchez made 12 saves to lead the visiting Jaguars past the Seahawks, who got six goals from Ryan Balajadia.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com