San Marcos dominated the first quarter and cruised to an 11-3 victory in a boys water polo rivalry matchup with Santa Barbara High on Thursday at San Marcos.
After a quiet first half of the opening quarter, Luke Burns provided the spark for the Royals with a goal with 3:47 left. That score ignited the sleeping giant that is the San Marcos offense.
Just 16 seconds after Burns’ goal, Nic Prentice found the back of the cage to extend the lead to 2-0.
Following solid stops from both defenses, Alden Klein got in on the scoring fun with a goal of his own with 1:34 remaining in the quarter.
On the ensuing Dons possession, Prentice picked up a steal in the middle of the pool and took it back for a score. He wasn’t done yet, as he scored the final goal of the quarter with 24 seconds remaining, giving his team a 5-0 lead after the first quarter.
“It’s super important (to get an early lead),” San Marcos coach Peera Sukavivatanachai said. “Our boys played really well and we did a really great job on defense to shut them out in that first quarter.
“We’ve been putting a lot of time and effort in our practices on defense getting ready for this game, so it was really nice to see it all come together today.”
The first quarter was full of physical plays from the Royals, taking advantage of their size and experience advantage. Santa Barbara High does not have a senior on its roster and only has two on the varsity team.
“They have a couple guys out there that are grown men and they were able to go one-on-one with our guys out there,” Dons coach Mark Walsh said. “There’s not much we can do about that, we can play good tactics and be smart but if you’re able to just beat us at a couple spots it makes it pretty easy to score.”
It was Burns once again opening the scoring in the second quarter, scoring on a penalty shot to extend the lead to 6-0.
Burns was one of four Royals to record a multi-goal performance, joined by Prentice (3), Klein (2) and Mateo Obando (2).
“Anyone and everyone can create opportunities for themselves,” Sukavivatanachai said. “It shows our diversity. We’re really excited about the depth of our team on offense.”
The Dons then got on the board for the first time halfway through the second quarter when Calvin Nelley found Shane Davis for the score, cutting the lead to 6-1.
The Royals answered right back to finish off the first half with a pair of goals as Hudson MacCloud scored his lone goal of the day and Klein registered his second of the game.
The beginning of the third quarter was headlined by Obando’s two goals, one by way of a penalty shot and one coming at the 4:38 mark to bring the San Marcos lead to 10-1.
After Obando, AJ Scarborough put the finishing touches on San Marcos’ scoring with a goal of his own with two minutes to go in the third quarter, making it six Royals with a goal.
One minute later, the Dons were awarded a penalty shot and Lolo Russell converted for his only goal to cut into the lead at 11-2, which would hold until the fourth quarter.
The final quarter was a defensive battle, with Santa Barbara shutting out the Royals in the period for the first time. Will Stearns-Corbin’s lone goal of the game came with 3:09 remaining, bringing the score to the eventual final mark of 11-3.
“I was fairly happy with how we played,” Walsh said. “We are playing good defense and definitely improving on that end.
“We did a lot of things right but it’s hard for us to generate some scoring when we don’t necessarily have natural scorers.”
San Marcos (13-6, 2-0 Channel League) will take on Oxnard next Tuesday to continue Channel League play.
“Hopefully this win is enough momentum to carry us into next week and for the rest of the season,” Sukavivatanachai said.
Meanwhile, the Dons (2-12, 0-1) have a non-league matchup with Carpinteria next Tuesday on the road.
“We’re still in our development,” Walsh said. “We’re going to be fine and we’re going to get there. We’re working for the future.”
