San Marcos boys water polo secured an automatic spot in the CIF-SS playoffs with a 13-7 tiebreaker win over Buena on Wednesday at Elings Aquatics Center in Goleta.
The Royals (16-13, 5-3 Channel League) earned a second-place finish in the Channel League with the victory and will now await their CIF-SS playoff division and first-round matchup, which will be released on Friday.
The two sides were determined on the defensive end in the opening quarter, as San Marcos’ Indiana Roth scored the lone goal to give his team a 1-0 lead heading into the second.
The offenses picked things up in the second quarter, but it remained a tight battle, with the game locked in a 4-4 tie by halftime.
The Royals came out of the break on fire, outscoring the Bulldogs 6-1 in the third quarter to pull away for a 10-5 lead with one quarter to go.
From there, the San Marcos defense held on and the offense added three goals to pull out the 13-7 win.
Brandon Lee and Ryder Wilson were key in the team’s second-half outburst, leading the way with four goals apiece.
Meanwhile, Roth finished the day with three goals and Cody Clark and Milo Kostechko rounded out the scoring with one goal each.
