WEDNESDAY’S CIF BOYS WATER POLO SEMIFINALS
DIVISION 1
No. 6 seed Huntington Beach (21-6) vs. No. 2 seed Mater Dei (25-4)
Site, time: William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, Irvine, 5 p.m.
Outlook: The Oilers’ anticipated rise became a reality with a breakthrough, 8-7, victory against Loyola of Los Angeles in the quarterfinals, sending HB to its first Division 1 semifinal since 1958. They’re loaded with some of the best young talent in the county, which blends with arguably the best goalie, Alex Wolf. The young studs include: freshman lefty Curtis Jarvis, sophomore Ethan Wojciechowski (one of the best skip shots in the county) and sophomore Matt Robert.
When the 6-foot-7 senior Wolf is locked in, he’s tough to beat and the Monarchs would be wise to look for that extra pass. But key adjustments like that should be easy for Mater Dei, which gears its year around playing in these big matches. The Monarchs’ semifinal record is spectacular, especially in Division 1. Since they debuted in Division 1 in 2010, the Monarchs’ semifinal wins have been by 4, 9, 14 and 6 goals. In some seasons, they’ve been sharper in the semifinals than the finals.
Mater Dei, however, appears like it won’t be at full-strength for this semifinal. Attacker Nick Lavayen (hand) again was in a cast at the quarterfinals and depth will be important for Mater Dei because the Oilers are deep and capable of drawing exclusions. But the Monarchs’ have some of their own emerging talent and can’t be overlooked in the cage. Junior Will Lapkin has been impressive on defense coming off the bench in recent weeks and Jonathan Van De Velde is an excellent senior goalie. Mater Dei’s counterattack is potent but Huntington Beach features some speed, too.
And while Mater Dei is the favorite to advance, don’t forget the Monarchs narrowly beat comparative foe Loyola, 10-8, on Oct. 29 at CdM. One wild-card to watch is the Oilers’ emerging center Quinten Osborne. As sophomores go, he has shown, at times, to be off-the-charts. If he plays under control and assertive, he can finish and create a lot of havoc at 2 meters. Osborne dominated Santa Margarita but was silenced by Loyola until his dramatic, game-winning shot with 1 second left.
Albano’s predicted winner: Mater Dei
