Carpinteria gave second-seeded La Cañada a serious scare in a second-round game of the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 water polo playoffs on Thursday.
The Warriors took a 7-6 lead in the third period before La Cañada responded with two late goals in the period and added two more in the fourth to escape with an 11-8 win.
“We played like Warriors today,” said a proud Carpinteria coach Matt Organista.
Carpinteria got an outstanding game from goalie Mac Clayton. He made 12 blocks “against some really good shooters and shots,” Organista said. “It was a good effort for all our boys, but Mac was on fired and absolutely amazing today. It was unbelievable to watch, and he had one of the best games of his career. If it wasn’t for Mac in the cage, the score would be a lot different.”
Wyatt Stevenson scored four goals and got the Warriors going early in the game. He gave Carpinteria a 1-0 lead after Malek Mehai won the sprint and responded with another goal for a 2-1 lead. La Cañada answered with three straight scores, but Stevenson got the the Warriors even with two more goals in the second quarter to tie the score at 4-4 before halftime
Carpinteria’s Eric Thornburgh held La Cañada’s set game without a goal in the second period.
Carpinteria came out strong in the third period, as Jordan Perez scored twice and Forrest Van Stein added a goal to give the Warriors a 7-6 advantage.
La Cañada, however, kept its composure and scored twice before the end of the period to retake the lead, 8-7. In the fourth, the visitors stepped up their pressure and added two more goals. Carpinteria was only able to respond with one goal from Perez before time ran out.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.