Boys Water Polo defeats Palos Verdes 9-8 in OT

(Right) Junior attacker Holden Brown extends his arm in an attempt to pass the ball. Mira Costa's water polo team defeated Palos Verdes High School 9-8 in overtime at Palos Verdes on Wednesday.

Noah Jamani
Online Sports Editor

The buzzer sounded and the visiting crowd roared, ending an unforgettable game at Palos Verdes High School between the Mustangs and Sea Kings.

Mira Costa boys water polo narrowly defeated the Sea Kings 9-8 in a Bay League contest, continuing the Mustangs’ 3-game winning streak.

“I think we played pretty well overall,” junior driver Hudson Carter said. “We moved the ball around well, but struggled a bit on defense.”

The game started with a goal from senior attacker Johnny Escobedo. Later in the first quarter Escobedo tallied another goal, putting the Mustangs up 2-0.

“We kept attacking and pressuring them, which lead to turnovers and gave us plenty of scoring chances,” Escobedo said.

As the second quarter began, the Sea Kings scored twice, tying the game at 2. In the dying minutes of the first half, Escobedo scored his third goal of the game on a long shot.

“We played very poor defense in the second quarter, which allowed the Sea Kings offense to score twice,” Carter said.

The Sea Kings opened the second half with three quick scores, due to Mustang turnovers. As the quarter progressed, both defenses settled in and played extremely well. By the end of the third quarter, the Sea Kings were hanging on to a 6-4 lead.

“We gave up three quick goals off the start, but after that our defense played well and we limited our turnovers.” Carter said.

Early in the final quarter Palos Verdes increased their lead with a quick goal. However, senior Mustang attackers Alex Nahabed and Ben Heagy quickly erased the Sea Kings lead by scoring three goals, tying the game at 7 and forcing overtime. In overtime, the Sea Kings struck first after a costly Mustang turnover. Fortunately for the Mustangs, senior attacker Ethan Chalk and Hudson Carter scored, giving the Mustangs a 9-8 lead. The Mustangs defense held Palos Verdes scoreless throughout the remainder of overtime giving the Mustangs their fourth win of the year.

“Today I did my part scoring three goals for our team,” Escobedo said. “We just worked together as a team and finished the game on a strong note.”

The 4-1 Mustangs will look for their fourth consecutive win Thursday in a game when they host West High School. The Mustangs are now 2-0 in the Bay League.

“We need to get focused and rest for the upcoming game versus West,” Carter said. “If we improve the start of every quarter, we should end up victorious on Thursday.”