When Orange Lutheran’s boys water polo team needed a pass zipped to an open player, he gladly delivered.
When the Lancers needed a clutch goal or a momentum shift, he made it happen.
Whatever selfless act was needed, Ash Molthen made sure it radiated through him and his teammates.
The junior contributed on multiple levels to power Orange Lutheran to its first CIF-SS title. For his efforts, Molthen is the Register’s Orange County boys water polo player of the year.
“He’s a super-talented player,” senior Ethan Wojciechowski of Huntington Beach said of Molthen, the first junior to claim the county award since Bret Bonanni of Mater Dei in 2010.
“But he really contributed to them winning by accepting more of a team role.”
The 6-foot-3, left-handed attacker scored 74 goals and racked up the same number of assists: a team-leading 74.
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ALL-COUNTY BOYS WATER POLO
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Molthen expertly displayed his unselfish ways in the Division 1 final against Huntington Beach.
From his left-hander’s wing, he dished out assists on the power play to Jake Markle and Parker Killion. Molthen finished the game with three assists.
“That’s what we needed to do to win,” said Molthen, who helped Orange Lutheran beat Huntington Beach, 9-7, in the final. “All we wanted was CIF. That was our goal.”
The Lancers (26-3) shared Molthen’s team-first mentality. Seven players score for the Lancers in the match.
“He puts all his trust in his coaches and teammates,” Lancers coach Steve Carrera said of Molthen, who was also named Division 1 player of the year.
“He makes everyone around him better, including me as his coach.”
Molthen also showed a knack for scoring in the big moments.
In the Division 1 final, the UCLA commit narrowly beat the halftime-buzzer by firing in a half-court shot for a momentum swing that helped fuel the Lancers’ decisive push in the second half.
Molthen sparked a 3-0 run in overtime with a goal and assist, sending the Lancers to a 13-11 triumph at Mater Dei that gave Orange Lutheran its first Trinity League title.
“When overtime came, he jumped out of his cage a little bit,” Mater Dei junior Jack Seybold said. “That was definitely helpful to them.”
The Lancers handed the Monarchs their first league loss since 2006, snapping the 41-match winning streak for the nine-time defending Trinity champion. He earned the Trinity League MVP.
His motivation throughout the season were his teammates, including senior captains Killion, Markle and Noah Sasaki.
“I love passing the ball,” Molthen said. “Just looking at every other sport, you look at the best players … they’re doing everything for the team. Scoring. Passing. Stealing.
“To be the best teammate you can, you have to be able to do everything for your team, and that’s what I try to do.”
He recently served USA Water Polo by coaching at a youth camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado.
Some of the youngsters knew of Molthen’s half-court shot in the Division 1 final. But in typical fashion, he was more thrilled to give back than to receive.
“It was amazing,” he said. “We talked, got in (the pool), showed them how to do some stuff.”
For Ash Molthen, it was another assist.
Contact the writer: dalbano@scng.com
