CHIEFTAINS BOUNCE BACK TO WIN MT. MIGUEL INVITE; MOOSA NAMED MVP

The Clairemont Boy’s Water Polo team earned three hard fought victories over the weekend at Mater Dei Catholic  to bring home their first regular season tournament title since 2017.  The boys overcame plenty of adversity along the way, rebounding from a tough loss Thursday, overcoming inner-team disciplinary actions and a limited rest period Saturday.

FRIDAY QUARTER FINAL

CLAIREMONT 12 – OTAY RANCH 4

It can be challenging both physically and mentally to rebound from a tough loss.  Clairemont came just short of knocking off Point Loma – the reigning Division 1 champions and current #9 team in San Diego County – Thursday evening on the road.  But the boys needed to rebound quickly as they suited up again on Friday to face down the Otay Ranch Mustangs.  The Mustangs are well coached and figure to be a major contender in Division 3, and they were eager to pull off an upset of their own.  Lack of focus and intensity led to missed opportunities and turnovers that kept Otay alive and only down 4-3 at the end of the first half.  But the Chiefs responded well in the second half, buttoning things up defensively and allowing their depth to take over as they took off on an 8-1 run to finish out the second half with a 12-4 win.  Freshman keeper Derek Pryor led the strong defensive effort with a major second half performance to keep Otay off the board.

SATURDAY SEMI FINAL

CLAIREMONT 9 – HILLTOP 8 (SUDDEN DEATH VICTORY)

Some inner-team disciplinary actions prior to the start of the match made for an interesting game vs the Lancers.  Hilltop held a commanding 5-2 lead at halftime as the Chieftain boys struggled to find their offense.  But senior Joseph Comalli opened up the second half on FIRE, lighting up 3 straight goals in 90 seconds to tie the game at 5-5!  Back and forth the contest went, but it was Hilltop that had the upper hand as they scored the go ahead goal with 40 seconds remaining.  The Chieftains had one last chance to try and tie the game with their final possession.  Sophomore Ryan Fegan made a big play to earn the team a power play, triggering a time out call from Coach Kienle.  The boys ran their power play, moving the ball well, and as time winded down it was senior Kyse Moosa that pulled the defense to him with a big series of pump fakes before delivering a pass to a wide open junior Preston Coleman who finished the play just before the final buzzer sounded.  SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME!!!!  After defending the opening possession of the Lancers, Fegan once again earned a power play for Clairemont.  The boys got to work breaking down the Hilltop penalty kill defense, and as Moosa pulled in the defense once more he got the Lancer goalie to bite on a fake pass down to a wide open Comalli and whipped a quick shot over his head for THE GAME WINNER!!!!!

SATURDAY FINAL

CLAIREMONT 11 – EL CAPITAN 7

The boys faced El Cap in the championship round after only a single game break (compared to the 4 game break El Cap was given).  But the Clairemont boys showed no fatigue as they scored first and never looked back.  The Vaqueros matched the Chieftains goal for goal through the first quarter, but a 4-0 run to close out the 2nd quarter pushed El Cap on their heels down 7-3 at halftime.  A few miscues defensively from the Chiefs gave the Vaqueros some life as they clawed back within 2 in the third quarter.  But senior Kyse Moosa took over in the 4th quarter to put the game away for good.  Sophomore keeper Cullen Holland slammed the door shut in the 4th quarter as well, stopping 5 of 6 shots to close the game out on a 15 save performance.  The Chieftain special teams were on full display in the championship as their power play offense devastated El Cap with 6 goals on 8 opportunities while their penalty kill blanked El Cap on all 4 of their chances.

UP NEXT

The Clairemont Boy’s Water Polo team improves to 7-3 on the season.  Up next, Clairemont has a rematch with El Capitan on Wednesday!  The game will be at El Cap at 6pm.  COME OUT AND SUPPORT YOUR CHIEFTAINS!!!!