No. 2 San Benito falls to Stevenson on Friday, Palma on
Saturday
WATSONVILLE
After Salinas, the Tri-County Athletic League was a bit of a crapshoot all season long, and unfortunately for the second-seeded San Benito Haybalers, it was more or less a crapshoot at the TCAL Tournament as well.
San Benito boys water polo coach Tom Agan spoke all season of a toss-up for second place between his ‘Balers, Carmel, Palma and Stevenson. And although the ‘Balers carried a 6-1 record to the TCAL Tournament, it wasn’t enough to guarantee them a trip to the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Only the top three teams advanced to CCS, and while Salinas lassoed the TCAL title, the No. 2 Haybalers lost their semifinal match to Stevenson 13-8 on Friday, then followed it with a 10-8 overtime loss to Palma in Saturday’s third- and fourth-place consolation match.
San Benito, at 9-10 overall, finishes the season in fourth place in the TCAL.
“Honestly, we didn’t play bad polo today,” Agan said on Saturday. “I think we could have varied our offense a little more. We were a little too predictable on offense.”
Knotted at 6-all early in the fourth period on Saturday, San Benito took the lead with four minutes remaining when Ryan Whiteside lofted a shot into the far corner for the go-ahead goal, his second on the day. Two minutes later, Jordan Schafer supplied the ‘Balers with a two-score edge when he pocketed his sixth goal of the match.
But the ‘Balers didn’t have much of an answer for Palma’s Tyler Wells, who equaled Schafer’s output with six goals as well.
No two scores were bigger, though, then the pair Wells placed in the back of the net in the final minute of play – one with 49 seconds remaining to make it 8-7, then another with 21 ticks left in a man-up situation to send the match to overtime.
“We talked about possession with a two-goal lead, and we weren’t able to get it done,” Agan said.
In the extra periods, Wells scored another goal to make it 9-8, then assisted on a man-up score to put the Chieftains ahead for good, 10-8.
Man-up opportunities were frequent for Palma Saturday and they managed to capitalize, scoring five times on eight opportunities. The ‘Balers, on the other hand, were 1 of 2 in man-up situations.
“That’s absolutely killing us,” Agan said of the man-up situations. “I’m not gonna say I agree with all the calls that were made, but that’s the way it is. And we didn’t get it done.”
The ‘Balers previously defeated Palma 11-9 during the regular season, although goalie Kyle Reuther couldn’t pinpoint the difference between that game and Saturday’s.
“When we played Palma the first time, one of our starters couldn’t play and we still beat them,” said Reuther, who had nine saves on Saturday, including one in which he blocked a five-meter shot. “And now we had that starter and they beat us 10-8, so I don’t know.
“But their man-ups were definitely working for them and those quick shots threw me off.”
Said Agan, “But they played with a lot of heart. The defense did a good job. We just didn’t get it done.”
San Benito v. Stevenson
Although they defeated Stevenson 9-6 during the regular season, the San Benito Haybalers simply couldn’t keep pace early on with the Pirates, which opened up an early lead it never relinquished.
Stevenson took a 3-2 lead after one quarter, but opened up an 8-3 cushion by halftime and eventually took a 13-8 victory in the semifinal round of the TCAL Tournament Friday.
Jordan Schafer, the team’s leading scorer, was absent from the lineup after he was ejected from San Benito’s previous game against Los Gatos at a tournament in Monta Vista.
“That was definitely a key factor,” Agan said. “But Stevenson played the best polo they’ve played all season. They really looked good.
“They pressured us real hard and we were just not effective of moving the ball on offense.”
Nick Angulo led the ‘Balers with five goals and Eric Nicolaysen added three. In the cage, Kyle Reuther had nine saves.
