San Marcos boys water polo had its season come to an end in dramatic fashion on Tuesday, falling to Classical Academy of Escondido 15-14 in the opening round of the CIF State Regional Tournament.
The Royals led the Caimans 9-5 with three minutes to go in the third period, but a furious offensive attack led by Aidan Johnson powered Classical Academy to the victory.
“Regardless of the loss, I’m really proud of these guys,” San Marcos head coach Peera Sukavivatanachai said. “We’ve come such a long way from when we started back in the middle of August.
“Our team has evolved and adapted and changed through quite a bit over the last two months.”
San Marcos got on the board first thanks to an inside goal by Jacob Magid with 5:34 to go in the first period. However, the Caimans responded right back with a score to even the score back up on the ensuing possession.
That same trend repeated later in the period, as Alden Klen put the Royals back in front before Classical Academy knotted things back up just 12 seconds later.
The 2-2 score held for the remainder of the first period.
The Caimans then had some momentum going in the first half of the second period, scoring back-to-back goals off of failed possessions by San Marcos to jump out to a 4-2 lead.
Falling behind for the first time in the game woke up the Royals’ offense, as San Marcos proceeded to rattle off four straight goals in the final 2:47 of the half to take a 6-4 lead into the break.
In that hot stretch, Nic Prentice scored a pair of goals, including a nifty move where he tipped the ball over a defender to create a 1-on-1 opportunity with the goalie, which he finished off.
Along with Prentice’s two scores, Jack Kramer and Mateo Obando found the back of the cage for their lone goals of the contest.
Kramer was one of multiple Royals who got plenty of playing time on Tuesday throughout the game despite not seeing much action during the team’s CIF Division 2 title run.
“Early in the game I was trying to cycle through our guys and give them an opportunity that they maybe didn’t see in our regular playoff run,” Sukavivatanachai said. “I was trying to get them excited and playing at that level.
“Jack Kramer had a great outside shot, it was picture-perfect. We’re super excited about him, he’s only a sophomore.”
Along with Kramer, Sukavivatanachai acknowledged Kai Heeps and AJ Scarborough for their defensive contributions.
San Marcos maintained that momentum early in the third period, scoring three goals and allowing just one to take a 9-5 lead with three minutes to go in the period. Klein, Magid and Luke Burns got on the board for the Royals in that stretch.
However, the rest of the third period was dominated by the Caimans, whose offense scored an impressive five goals in less than three minutes to carry a 10-9 lead into the final period.
The Royals got off to a good start in the fourth, with Magid and Prentice scoring to take an 11-10 lead.
After two failed possessions, Classical Academy responded with a score to even the game up at 11-11 with 4:57 to go.
On the next possession, Will Stuart rose up for the Royals and rocketed in a goal to take the lead right back. Then, Stuart hit Magid for his fourth goal of the night, giving San Marcos a 13-11 advantage with 3:36 left.
That lead quickly slipped away following back-to-back goals by Johnson, tying the game once again at the 2:51 mark.
On the next possession, Klein found Burns on the inside and Burns did the rest, converting from point-blank range to grab a 14-13 lead.
From there, the Classical Academy defense shut down the Royals and Johnson took over with a goal at the 1:44 mark and, following a save by Caiman goalie David Lepine, the game-winner from the outside with 1:05 left on the clock.
Johnson ended the night with a game-high six goals.
“We were late adjusting to (Johnson), we were so focused and so concerned about their center,” Sukavivatanachai said. “I think this is the most amount of goals that we’ve given up all season long.”
The loss ended a historic San Marcos season, with the team going 25-11 and capturing its first CIF title since 1994.
“I was telling them in the locker room, ‘I don’t want this loss to reflect the season as a whole’,” Sukavivatanachai said. “We’ve overcome so many obstacles and so many challenges and we’ve had some really, really incredible games.”
