IRVINE – The rise of an Orange County water polo power moved Tuesday to the coronation stage, complete with medals and wonder about what the future holds.
Northwood Water Polo Club’s 16-and-under boys defeated top-seeded Del Mar of San Diego, 7-5, to capture gold in their age group’s top division at the Junior Olympics at the Woollett Aquatics Center.
Before an overflow crowd, Northwood claimed the county’s biggest prize of the numerous boys tournaments by relying on players who will comprise Orange Lutheran’s squad this fall.
“They’re up-and-coming,” Del Mar coach Brett Ormsby, a former Olympian and ex-UCLA standout, said of Orange Lutheran. “They’re a team to watch.”
Northwood led, 3-0, after the first period and never trailed en route to its first title. Del Mar trimmed its deficit to one goal on three occasions, but Northwood responded each time.
Tournament MVP Ash Molthen and Hannes Daube each scored twice for Northwood, and 6-foot-8 goalie Jake Simmons added 12 saves, half of which came against Del Mar’s power play, which went 3 for 8.
After Matthew Kacura picked up two first-period fouls, Northwood coach Steve Carrera went to his bench and received goals from Garrett Zaan and Sam Sasaki.
“It’s definitely a huge accomplishment,” said Molthen, a sophomore-to-be who added four steals and an assist. “We’re so young. … We were deciding whether to play 18’s or 16’s and we finally decided on 16’s and it ended up very good.”
Northwood surged to the finish by blending recent transfers Daube and Josh Orrick.
“We’re playing as a cohesive unit,” said Carrera, who guided Orange Lutheran to the CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinals last season.
“This summer training, this club season was really about getting better, improving and trying to win that CIF championship.
“We want to make a run. Not next year or the year after, but right now. We feel we can surprise some people.”
Daube, from Newport Harbor, haunted Del Mar, a club he spent time with about six weeks ago, Ormsby said. Del Mar was led by Connor Turnbow-Lindenstadt, a Corona del Mar junior-to-be who scored twice.
“Hannes Daube was the difference,” Ormsby said.
In the 18-and-under final, the newly formed Santa Barbara Polo Pals held off Los Angeles Premier and U.S. national team center Ben Hallock, 7-6, thanks to a last-second save against the power play by Harvard-bound goalie Anthony Ridgley.
Hallock finished with four goals for Premier, a team powered mostly by players from Harvard-Westlake of Studio City.
Stanford-bound Blake Parrish recruited several friends who needed a team to join the Pals, including the Huntington Beach duo of Wade Shipman and Ethan Wojciechowski.
“It was kind of natural,” Parrish said. “We were pals.”
In the third-place match, Will Lapkin and U.S. national team left-hander Thomas Dunstan each scored four goals to lead Mater Dei-based Regency past Stanford, 13-10.
The Junior Olympics girls tournament runs Thursday through Sunday in Orange County.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
