JSerra pulls out victory in sudden-death OT

Left-hander Chris Meinhold scored on the first possession of sudden-death overtime to lift JSerra's boys water polo team to an 11-10 victory over La Canada in a CIF Division II quarterfinal match Saturday at Pasadena City College.

The Lions (19-9) led, 7-5, late in the fourth period but the third-seeded Spartans (20-10) scored twice in the final 1:30 to force overtime.

La Canada led, 10-9, late in the second three-minute overtime but Meinhold and Macrae Carden forced a steal with about five seconds left. Luke Hewko scored at the buzzer to force sudden death.

“It was an awesome game,” JSerra coach Petar Asic said.

The Lions face league rival Servite in the semifinals Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine. In the other semifinal, Trinity League champion Mater Dei will play Riverside Poly, a 9-6 winner against Long Beach Wilson.

In another Division II match:

Mater Dei 15, Temple City 3: The top-seeded Monarchs (22-7) shut out the Rams (21-10) in the first half and held them to a 2-for-14 effort on the man advantage at Pasadena City College. Colin Carroll had 10 saves while Alex Wherry and Nathaniel Caulum each added four goals.

In the Division VII quarterfinals:

Katella 14, Santa Ana Valley 8: Dillon Avila scored six goals and goalie Dylan Peterson made 14 saves at Kennedy as the top-seeded Knights (20-9) reached the semifinals for the first time. Katella will play Sunbelt League champion Perris in the semifinals Wednesday night at Kennedy.

Perris 8, Cypress 5: In a match played with ash from the area fires falling into the pool at Cypress, the fourth-seeded Panthers (23-7) outscored the at-large Centurions, 5-2, in the second half. “I'm surprised we even played the game, but we made it work,” Cypress coach Erik Sandvig said. Perris held Cypress standout Chris Meis to one goal.

Hemet 11, Los Amigos 9: Anthony Diaz finished with five goals for the second-seeded Lobos (18-9), who were outscored by three goals in the critical third period at West Valley High in Hemet. In the semifinals, Hemet will meet Valencia, an 18-6 winner against third-seeded Western.

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com