Loyola capitalizes on Los Alamitos' late mistake
LOS ALAMITOS – Los Alamitos and Loyola of Los Angeles engaged in a defensive struggle Friday in a CIF-SS Division 1 boys water polo showdown.
U.S. youth team members Chandler Jarrels of Los Alamitos and Chancellor Ramirez of Loyola mostly guarded each other, essentially canceling each other out.
Goalies Luke Weiser of Los Alamitos and Liam Lenihan of Loyola were both sharp.
So not surprisingly, the outcome of the nonleague match was determined by the team that capitalized on a late mistake made by the other.
Loyola turned an offensive foul by Los Alamitos into a breakaway for Ramirez, who netted the eventual winning goal in the fourth period of the Cubs' 5-4 triumph at the Joint Forces Training Base.
Ramirez's goal lifted Loyola (14-3) to a 5-3 lead with 2:26 left.
He broke free on the counterattack after sophomore Sean Thomas drew an offensive foul against Los Alamitos (11-5).
Andrew Reynolds scored from center with 18 seconds left to trim the Cubs' lead to 5-4, but Loyola went on to avenge a 10-8 loss to Los Alamitos in third-place match at the South Coast Tournament last month.
Loyola is ranked second to Mater Dei in Division 1, two spots ahead of the Griffins.
Los Alamitos coach Dave Carlson said his team delivered its best defensive effort of the season.
"I thought our defense was awesome," he said. "Especially our 2-meter defense."
Ramirez finished with three goals, and Jarrels had two.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
