Photos and game info/stats from Josh Thompson
Boys Water Polo:
San Dimas didn’t just win their first-ever CIF-SS (Division 5) boys water polo championship on Saturday at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine.
They did so in dominating fashion.
SDHS got out to an early two-goal lead and cruised to an 11-6 victory over Don Lugo.
It was also their third win over the Conquistadores in 2022.
Diego Zazueta played a starring role for the Saints, scoring a game-high five goals.
But SDHS goalie, Daniel Gonzalez, has played like an MVP as well.
Gonzalez had 10 more saves in the title win.
He held the Conquistadores offense to nearly half of their scoring average.
Killian Pressley added three goals for San Dimas.
And Travis Pang chipped in with a pair of goals.
Josh Rizo led DLHS with four goals, all of which came in the fourth period.
Don Lugo fell to 1-4 all-time in CIF title games.
Lastly, I asked Coach Danny Feola: what was key on this postseason run, what did they need to do to defeat Don Lugo for the third time this season and how clutch has Daniel Gonzalez been during the playoffs?
Said Danny Feola: “We really wanted to emphasize our effort on defense this postseason run. We knew we would be able to score. We’ve scored 400+ goals this season. The difference between winning and losing was going to be our effort on defense. The boys really bought in, and we did not allow more than six goals in the playoffs. The big key was to give them the respect they deserve. They were a hungry team that surprised everyone they played all postseason. We could not fall into the trap of saying “oh we have beaten these guys twice.” We wanted to limit their #4 and their #14 and make the others on their team beat us. Our game plan worked.
Gonzalez, who we call Fuego, has been key all season long. He has allowed us to run a zone defense and encourage shots from the other team to be taken. We had confidence he would be able to block those outside shots. It’s always nice knowing you have the best goalkeeper in the water. It gives piece of mind.”
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Box Score:
SD: 2-4-3-2-(11)
DL: 0-2-0-4-(6)
Records: San Dimas (26-7); Don Lugo (21-11)
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