When Jon Otsuki took over the Carpinteria High boys water polo team in August, he knew he had something special.
The Warriors haven’t disappointed.
They made a date for their first-ever CIF-Southern Section final by jumping on Downey early and rolling to a 13-6 victory in a Division 5 semifinal game on Wednesday before a big, spirited crowd at Santa Barbara High’s pool.
Top-seeded Carpinteria (25-4) will play No. 2 Burbank (25-2) for the championship on Saturday at the Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine at 5:30 p.m.
Burbank edged Buena, 9-8, in the other semifinal.
“We saw the possibility,” Otsuki said of the Warriors playing for a CIF title. “It’s a core group that has been together for probably six to eight years. They know they have chemistry between them. They’ve matured, given two years with the COVID year off. They’ve come back bigger, stronger, faster.”
Their speed and awareness were too much for Downey to handle.
Justin Main twice got free on the right side and scored two goals, and Asher Smith finished a long pass from goalkeeper Jacob Taff to get the Warriors off to a 3-0 lead in the first 3:35 of the opening period.
“That’s usually how we start,” said Main, who scored all three of his goals in the first period. “We jump on them early, and once we pull ahead we start to slow things down and focus on defense more.”
Smith said: “If you come out of the gates just scoring as many goals as you can, the other team just doesn’t know what to do against you.”
Downey managed to score back-to-back goals to make it a one-goal game before Main buried a long shot from the top for a 4-2 lead.
The Vikings would never get closer.
Carpinteria goalie Jacob Taff denies a Downey player during Wednesday’s CIF-SS Division 5 semifinal. The Warriors won 13-6 to reach their first CIF Final. pic.twitter.com/mVZw3GKQWP
— NoozhawkSports (@NoozhawkSports) November 11, 2021
“I had a feeling we were going to do well in this game,” Main said. “I did a little background research, and (Downey) lost to a team that we had beaten twice. When I saw that, I had a little bit more confidence coming into this.”
The Warriors made it 5-2 at 4:44 of the second period on a rebound goal by Smith, after some nice movement to set up a shot for Zach Isaac. Gavin Lohuis fed Isaac on the left wing and he fired a shot that was blocked by Downey goalkeeper Diego Campos. The rebound went right back to him and took another shot that slammed off the cross bar. Smith grabbed the rebound and buried the shot.
On the next goal, Lohuis threw a cross-pool pass to Smith for the finish and a 6-2 advantage.
Matteo Handall steals ball and drives on goal before passing to Reyn Clayton for the finish in Carpinteria’s 13-6 win over Downey in the CIF-SS Division 5 water polo semifinals. pic.twitter.com/vPsgkiFOVo
— NoozhawkSports (@NoozhawkSports) November 11, 2021
“Coach Stephen Kim has done a great job designing plays for the team. Give him a lot of credit,” Otsuki said.
He credited the all-around effort from each team member.
“Today, we relied on everyone,” Otsuki said. “Justin Main had a great game, Zach Isaac, everyone contributed today. You saw that.”
Seven players scored for the Warriors, including goalie Jacob Taff, who tallied the final goal as Downey pushed its goalie into the attack.
Smith led Carpinteria with four goals, Main scored three, Isaac and Colby Gonzalez each had two, and Matteo Handall, Reyn Clayton and Taff tallied one apiece.
Johan Greyton led Downey with two goals.
Taff played a solid game in goal. On one sequence in the third period, he stopped a backhand shot and threw a perfect pass to Smith, who drew a penalty. Handall finished the penalty shot for a 7-3 lead.
Later in the period, he made a big save on Javier Rodriguez and then made back-to-back blocks just before the buzzer to keep the Warriors ahead 9-4.
Zach Isaac scores from long distance for Carpinteria in the 13-6 CIF-SS Division 5 semifinal win over Downey. pic.twitter.com/hhGCuvhxj4
— NoozhawkSports (@NoozhawkSports) November 11, 2021
“Jacob is insane,” Smith said. “If we didn’t have Jacob, I don’t think we’d be where we are today. He reads the game really well. His passes are great, his blocks are great. He has a good connection with the team.”
In the fourth period, the Warriors went on a 3-0 run. Isaac rattled a long-distance shot off the cross bar that went in; Handall stole the ball in Downey’s attacking third, drove it down pool and crossed the ball to Clayton for the 11th goal; and Gonzalez beat the goalie one on one to make it 12-5.
“They came ready, and they’re excited,” Otsuki said of the Warriors. “They’re looking forward to one more game.”
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.