With three lead changes in the final four minutes against Aptos, the San Benito boys water polo team’s season ended in dramatic fashion Tuesday in the second round of the Monterey Bay League playoffs Wednesday in Hollister.
The Balers, who held a one-goal lead with four minutes to play – fell 13-12 to the Mariners on a goal in the final five seconds of play. It was a heartbreaking end to a difficult season for the Balers in their first year in the MBL’s Gabilan Division.
The two teams traded momentum constantly over the four quarters, but after five Balers were kicked out the of game because of penalties – including leading scorer Jacob Garcia – San Benito couldn’t hold on with Aptos.
“We ended with five guys kicked out of the game,” head coach Aaron Gautney said. “And all five were starters. It’s hard to come back from that.”
Despite the penalty issues, the Balers played well, controlling the game’s pace of play at times, while making it difficult for Aptos to find room to score.
Even in a losing effort, it was further proof the team was getting better with each game, Gautney said.
“It’s a wake up call for a team that eight of the guys played in the B League last year,” he said. “It was a wake up call for them on what better water polo as like. Not to take anything away from the B League teams, but it’s a whole different type of game.”
He continued: “It’s a wake up call for all the players that are returning. Hopefully, they know what we are up against and adjust accordingly.”
In the final game of the year, Aptos took control early, building a 5-7 lead at the half.
But San Benito controlled the middle of the pool, thanks to the strong play of Jarett Barrios, who finished with three goals. Barrios gave San Benito its first lead of the day at 3-2 with two of the team’s first three goals. That goal came with 40 seconds left in the half, when Garcia found Barrios streaking to the cage open. A quick shot later, SBHS took their first lead.
It didn’t last, though, as Aptos responded by scoring four of the next five goals to take the halftime lead. Led by junior Colton Owczarzak, the Balers came out strong in the second half. Owczarzak scored all three of his goals in the second half as SBHS grabbed a lead with one minute remaining in the third quarter.
From there, the score changed hands six times before Aptos scored the game-winning goal with five seconds left.
“It was a good game,” Owczarzak said. “It was a good way to finish off the year. A lot of our varsity team is graduating so it’s good to end with the team we had. I think we really got it today and it was just an awesome game in general and we will do our best again next year.”
And the Balers expect to be better in 2013, he said.
“This year was a rough start. We got moved up and played a lot better teams,” Owzcarzak said. “We definitely got better as the year went on. We just have to keep going. As far as next year goes, I think we will do really good.”
SBHS girls water polo
The Balers know each and every game what they are going to get from seniors Caitlin Schafer and Rachel Estep, but with such a young team, the supporting class can be a question mark.
After a one-goal loss to Aptos to begin the MBL tournament on Tuesday, that supporting class played beyond its experience Wednesday against Stevenson in a 11-4 win in Hollister.
Schafer carried the load for San Benito, scoring six goals, but it was freshman Gracie Larson that got the Balers moving.
After trailing 2-0 for the majority of the fist half, goals by Estep and Schafer brought San Benito within one of Stevenson. With a goal less than 30 seconds into the second half, Larson, grabbing a rebound off a Schafer shot, tied the game.
Afterward, the Balers never trailed again.
“She really got our adrenaline pumping,” Schafer said. “Especially, when she tied it. It got everyone excited and pumped and ready to go.”
Larson added two more goals for San Benito, as the Balers controlled the game in the final two quarters to run away with the easy victory. The win advanced SBHS into Thursday’s third round against Salinas. Look online for an update.
Larson’s success Wednesday, though, showed the importance of the team’s younger players.
“The younger girls really needed to step it up and Gracie really did that today,” head coach Hayley Vandercook said. “Everyone tries to take Caitlin out of the game so we need the younger players to come up with the some goals and Gracie did that.”
