Live Oak defeated the Haybalers 14-12 and the Lady ‘Balers 12-3
Tuesday in Morgan Hill
MORGAN HILL
The San Benito boys water polo team fell two goals shy of beating their former league rival on Tuesday, as they lost to host Live Oak 14-12 in Morgan Hill.
Jordan Schafer and Ryan Whiteside each supplied four goals a piece for San Benito, which falls to 3-3 overall on the year. Matt McCullough added a pair of scores on Tuesday as well, while Nick Angulo and Morris Stevens rounded out the scoring for the Haybalers with a goal each.
The two teams were knotted 9-all at the end of three quarters, but the Acorns pulled ahead in the final stanza, coach Tom Agan said.
“We were close. But I wouldn’t say the guys worked real well as a team,” Agan said afterward. “I felt like we were a bunch of individuals out there. Communication wasn’t spectacular … We’re working our very best to fix it.
“We always want to beat Live Oak. It was nice to be reasonably close. We were definitely in it. But I know we can play better than we played today. There seems to be a lot still left on the table.”
San Benito, which is 1-1 in the Tri-County Athletic League, won’t return to conference play until next Wednesday when they host Monterey at home. This weekend, they’ll play in the St. Francis Tournament and will open with Los Altos at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.
GIRLS WATER POLO
MORGAN HILL
The San Benito girls water polo team couldn’t even the score up on Live Oak Tuesday, and fell to their speedy former rivals in the pool, 12-3.
Amanda Virak found the back of the cage twice for the Lady ‘Balers, while Sarah Kelso added another score.
The Acorns, however, capitalized on the counterattack and used speed to their advantage.
“They’re really fast, which we expected,” coach Hayley Vandercook said. “Almost all of their goals came on the counterattack.
“They’re just so fast.”
Vandercook said her team was fine once they were set up in the half-court, but as soon as the game turned into a swimming race, Live Oak’s speed supplied them with the upper hand.
San Benito falls to 4-4 overall on the year. They’ll play in the eight-team Carmel Invitational this weekend. Although no opponent or time has been announced, Vandercook said the first game begins at 7 a.m. and pool play continues throughout the day.
