SB Men’s Water Polo Invitational Tournament Day 1: San Marcos Wins 15-5 Over Redlands | Sports

San Marcos opened the Santa Barbara Men’s Water Polo Tournament with a 15-5 win over Redlands East Valley on Thursday at the Elings Aquatic Center.

The one-sided win moved the Royals into the winners’ bracket and set up a matchup against Laguna Beach at Elings Aquatic Center on Friday at 1:15 p.m.

The local tournament features 22 teams from across Southern California, including the state’s top 50 teams, Corona Del Mar (9th), Carlsbad (32nd) and San Marcos (40th).

“We’ve been training a lot over the last few weeks, so it’s good to see everything coming together in today’s match,” Royals coach Peera Sukavivatanachai said. “Hopefully it’ll be a good starting point for us for the tournament.

“We have very strong competition ahead of us and we are ready for the challenge. Laguna should be a very strong team for us to compete with.”

San Marcos scored the first goal in the first minute of the match when Jake Magid scored on Christian Yonker.

But Redlands dominated the next four minutes, scoring three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead with 2:54 left in the first period.

“We had a bit of an adjustment period in the first quarter, we didn’t see them and we didn’t really know what to expect,” Sukavivatanachai said.

The Royals got off to a comfortable start with Will Stuart sneaking in behind the defense on two consecutive possessions and rattling the net both times to tie the second period at 3-3.

The San Marcos defense rallied after conceding three goals early in the game and was able to keep the Wildcats on target in the second quarter, and the offense did its job as well.

Stuart was hot to start the second half, taking a pass from Hudson Macleod and scoring the goal that gave the Royals a 4-3 lead with 6:20 left in the first half. San Marcos held the lead for the remainder of the game.

Magid scored another goal for his team before Stuart and Yonker extended the lead to 7-3 with goals from penalty kicks.

Just before the first half ended, San Marcos’ Indiana Roth’s shot hit the post and went to Yonker, who put the ball into the net to give the Royals an 8-3 lead at halftime.

“We adjusted pretty well in the last three quarters,” Sukavivatanachai said of his team after the slow start.

The third period was more of the same for the Royals, as they outscored Redlands 3-0 with goals by Alden Klein, Magid and Roth. While goals by Klein and Magid came on breakaways, Roth took advantage of the empty cage and scored with a shot from ¾ pool length.

Most of San Marcos’ goals on the day came when goalkeeper Sam Rich converted several long passes down the length of the pool to turn a strong defense into fast breaks.

“We’re quick in transition, quick in change of play and obviously Sam making those outlet passes really puts us in a good spot,” Sukavivatanachai said.

After three periods, the Royals had a comfortable lead with a score of 11-3.

From there, the offense continued to pile on the pounds as San Marcos fended off the Wildcats en route to the victory, with Magid scoring twice in the final period while Macleod and Roth finished the scoring to make it 15-5.

Stuart and Magid led the Royals in scoring with four goals each, while Yonker scored three.

“Will (Stuart) and Jake (Magid) were so confident, they were the most dominant players in the game,” Sukavivatanachai said. “They were controlling and their presence was felt every time they got in that water… They also did a great job of preparing our young players.

“Freshman Christian Yonker did a great job and was aggressive as well.”

Carlsbad 9, Dos Pueblos 8

The Chargers lost the first game of the weekend tournament to Carlsbad, 9-8.

Despite the loss, Dos Pueblos coach Chris Parrish said he was pleased with how his team played against the top-tier team.

“We knew we were going to be competing with our opponents, they were a lot bigger and more experienced, so we were looking to go out and get a couple wins in the game rather than just trying to win the game,” Parrish said.

“Carlsbad is a pretty good team and for us to stay within one goal is a victory in itself.”

The Chargers were placed in the round-robin portion of the tournament and their next game is Friday at 3:20 p.m. against Coronado High School in San Marcos.

“I think we’re in the right part of the tournament now,” Parrish said. “We’re going to be able to go into the round robin with a lot of good teams and try to get some more experience and see what we can do.”

The tie was broken in the first minute of the match with a penalty goal by Dos Pueblos’ Grant Nelson, but Carlsbad scored four goals in a row to finish the first quarter ahead 4-1.

The Chargers widened their lead in the second period with Nelson’s slick conversion goal and Lucas Neushul’s outside shot into the back of the net.

After an exchange of goals between the two teams, Ben Fuhrer scored both goals for Dos Pueblos and Carlsbad entered the halftime break with a 6-5 lead.

“Ben played really well defensively and did a lot of good things for us, he was key in getting the offense going,” Parrish said.

Nelson continued his strong performance with a goal off a Neushul assist at 6:19 of the third period to tie the game, but the Carlsbad defense rallied and held the Chargers scoreless for the rest of the quarter.

Heading into the fourth and final period, Carlsbad maintained its 8-6 lead.

Neushul tried to lead the Chargers to victory with two impressive goals from outside, but Carlsbad scored once more to give their team a 9-8 victory.

Nelson and Neushul were at the forefront of play throughout the match, scoring three goals each.

“Lucas is very, very conscious and Grant has the natural ability to put the ball in the goal,” Parrish said.