Los Alamitos High’s boys water polo team got into a shooting match with Lake Oswego, of Oregon, before losing in overtime, 17-16, in the semifinals of their bracket in the Villa Park Tournament on Saturday at Los Alamitos High.
The Griffins had jumped out to early leads, leading by as much as 5-2 before the Lakes began to chip away at the lead. Griffin Head Coach Robert Grayeli said that despite the three match win streak, they had not been as sharp on defense as they needed to be.
“The last three games, we’re deciding to trade goals with teams, and if we trade goals, we just can’t win games that way,” Grayeli said.
The Griffins also had to make adjustments for some setbacks, including the loss of last year’s team MVP, Sebastian Mok. But the Griffins are still looking to compete for a playoff spot with players like seniors Noah Garrison and Nathan Jorge leading the way. Sophomores Parker Day and Kyson Kang are also providing offensive production. In the loss to Lake Oswego, Garrsion and Day had five goals each, while Kang contributed four.
Grayeli said the team needs to shore up its defense, but the offense does have the ability to score. He said the team has shown sparks of high powered attack, but can falter and let teams make runs of their own.
“Just when you think we’re done, we’re not done, … we can make a little run at you, and that’s just because we lock in, but that’s our problem, we do it when our backs are against the wall, where we need to be doing it more throughout the game,” Grayeli said.
The Griffins are currently 5-4 overall and are 1-0 in Sunset Wave League play, having gotten a 17-8 win over Edison. They will also participate in the South Coast Tournament in Irvine, starting Thursday with a match against JSerra at 3 p.m. at William Woollett Aquatics Center.
The tournament should give the Griffins a chance to continue to revise their lineup as they head into the bulk of league play. Despite the recent setbacks, Grayeli said he likes his team’s toughness and competitiveness.
“We play with a lot of heart, we’re a physically conditioned team, we grind, we chop at you, you know, we get better in the third, fourth quarter,” Grayeli said.
