Parity paid Orange County boys water polo another visit Saturday, and brought along a few friends interested in more change.
Center Quinten Osborne scored four first-half goals against mostly single coverage, Patrick Saunders made 11 saves, and defender Ryan Hurst had two field blocks to lead No. 2 Huntington Beach past No. 1 and ailing Orange Lutheran, 7-3, before a packed pool deck at Ocean View.
The Oilers (20-3) could become the third different school to be ranked No. 1 in the county this fall when the new poll surfaces Monday. Mater Dei started atop the rankings before giving away to Orange Lutheran about two weeks ago.
“We are definitely proud of the win,” Huntington Beach coach Sasa Branisavljevic said.
“It’s great to see that the boys are only allowing a big team like OLu to score three goals. … That’s phenomenal.”
Orange Lutheran (20-3) netted each score on its power-play, which finished 3 for 8. The Oilers went 2 for 3.
Saunders made two saves with the Oilers down a player, while Hurst added four steals. Ethan Wojciechowski and Jacob Cavano mostly marked sharp-shooter Hannes Daube.
“We know that defense is what wins games,” said Oilers lefty Curtis Jarvis, who scored twice in the fourth period.
But Huntington Beach only faced Orange Lutheran standout Ash Molthen for 3:20 of the fourth period, which began with the Oilers leading, 4-1. The left-hander and center Josh Orrick were limited by illness and minor injuries, Lancers coach Steve Carrera said. Parker Killion tried to pick up the slack with two goals and four steals.
“We didn’t want to push it when we didn’t need to,” Carrera said. “Just getting ready for the playoffs. Playoffs are going to be insane.”
In nonleague:
No. 3 Mater Dei 12, No. 5 Newport Harbor 8: Billy Motherway made 14 saves to lead the visiting Monarchs (18-6) past the Sailors.
In Steve Pal Memorial:
No. 8 Santa Margarita 10, San Marcos 5: Jack Baumgardner scored three goals, Noah Hodge made 13 saves, and Brock Petersen had four assists in the finals to lead the host Eagles (21-7) to their second tournament title this season.
Contact the writer: dalbano@scng.com
