Los Al water polo shows toughness, improvement

Los Alamitos’s second-ranked boys water polo team showed its toughness over the weekend at the North-South Challenge in Atherton.

In the Griffins’ tournament-opening match against Menlo-Atherton, sophomore center Joe Ferretti suffered a cut above an eye that required four stitches, Los Alamitos coach Dave Carlson said. 

Ferretti, however, played Saturday and scored a late tying-goal against eventual tournament champion Miramonte of Orinda in the semifinals.

Senior attacker Ryan Fattal, meanwhile, is off coming surgery for a broken nose but played in the tournament.

Los Alamitos also showed improvement against Miramonte (18-0). The Griffins (21-4) led arguably the top team in the state by two goals going into the fourth period before falling, 10-9.

In the finals of the S & R Sport Cup earlier this month, Miramonte played without U.S. junior team player Tommy Briskey and took a three-goal lead into the fourth period against Los Alamitos and posted a 6-4 victory.

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com