Shorthanded and short of goals in the first half, the San Benito
boys water polo team produced a slow start Monday against visiting
Carmel and couldn’t rebound, falling to the visiting Padres 11-9 in
Tri-County Athletic League action.
HOLLISTER
Shorthanded and short of goals in the first half, the San Benito boys water polo team produced a slow start Monday against visiting Carmel and couldn’t rebound, falling to the visiting Padres 11-9 in Tri-County Athletic League action.
The Balers were not at full strength, and fell behind 3-1 after one period and 6-2 at halftime. The team battled back in the second half, however, but couldn’t overcome its first-half deficit.
“The guys did a great job. We just had a little bit of trouble starting in the first half,” San Benito head coach Tom Agan said.
Nick Angulo chimed in with six goals for the Balers, who fall to 6-2 in the TCAL. Tyler Reuther, Josh Schafer and Jake Garcia each added one goal apiece.
The seasonal improvement by the Balers has Agan believing that, under the right conditions, San Benito should be able to compete at the year-end TCAL Tournament with Salinas, Carmel and Stevenson.
“We’re right in that mix,” he said. “There’s no doubt in my mind, under the right conditions, we can beat Carmel.”
The TCAL Tournament is slated to begin next week.
San Benito will wrap up the regular season this week against Christopher on Thursday, and will compete in a tournament at Monta Vista this weekend.
Last weekend, the Balers competed in a tournament at Carmel and went 0-3 against Stevenson (11-16), Leland (8-15) and Live Oak (10-14).
Angulo led all Balers with 16 goals scored in the three games, while Schafer followed with seven scores. Carlos Huerta added four goals, and both Reuther and Jordan Dain added one goal apiece.
Trevor Agan had a total of 16 saves in the tournament, and added 10 stops against Carmel on Monday.
San Benito is now 12-10 overall.
Thursday’s match with Christopher will be held at Gavilan College. Match time is 3:30 p.m.
