San Marcos boys water polo battled its way to an 18-16 overtime victory over Westlake High in Tuesday’s season opener at Westlake.
While the win marked the first win of the year for the Royals, it also marked a milestone for Cole Racich, who was back in the pool for the first time in two years following a battle with leukemia.
Racich, who began his high school career at Dos Pueblos, scored four goals to lead San Marcos in scoring in the win over the Warriors, who won the CIF-SS Div. 1 title last season.
It was a tight affair throughout, as the Royals trailed 6-4 after the first quarter before battling back to tie the game up at 8-8 at halftime.
Westlake bounced back in the third quarter, slowly pulling away to take a 14-11 advantage into the final quarter.
San Marcos then locked in for the fourth, holding Westlake scoreless while finding the back of the cage three times to knot the score at 14-14 and force the game into overtime.
The Royals got out to a strong start, taking an early lead in the first overtime period and holding onto it on the way to the 18-16 victory.
Titus Fernandez had a big performance in the goal, collecting 13 saves while allowing just two goals in the final three periods of play.
Ryder Wilson facilitated the offense with six assists to go along with two goals, and Brandon Lee tallied one goal and drew three exclusions in his varsity debut.
Carpinteria 12, Santa Barbara 7
The Warriors started fast and held onto the lead late for a 12-7 win over the Dons on Tuesday in Carpinteria.
The Carpinteria offense lit up the scoreboard out of the gates, scoring six goals in the first quarter to jump out to a 6-2 advantage.
The Dons bounced back and limited Carpinteria to just six goals for the rest of the game, but the Warrior defense held strong.
Santa Barbara High made a late push at a comeback in the fourth quarter, but the Warriors pulled out the 12-7 victory as the final whistle sounded.
Samuel Medel and Ryder Shaw led the Warriors with three goals apiece, while Micah Smith made his return from injury and put together a strong performance.
Meanwhile, Stefano Piccoletti shined on the defensive end for Carpinteria with 11 total blocks.
“I was really proud of how every player stepped up on counter defense and everyone was kept in check,” Carpinteria High head coach Russell Russo-LeVasseur said. “I’ve been telling the boys, ‘Let’s have a goal of playing 6-man polo every quarter, this will be one distinguishing factor for those teams that make it to the top in their division and those who drop off late in CIF.
“Moving forward, I hope these guys can dial in their offense a little more, and this will open a lot more attempts on goal.”
Oliver Kelly’s four goals led the Dons, while Lorenzo Russell scored once and earned five exclusions. West Graham and Calvin Nelley each scored once, and Mason Walsh tallied seven saves in the final three quarters.
Santa Barbara High (2-3) will host Foothill Tech on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.