Boy's Water Polo Headed Towards Championship

After beating host Torrance High 19-7, to start the CIF playoffs, Culver high school Boys Water Polo team (16-9) won their second round game 11 to 8 against visiting Palm Springs (10-15) last Thursday. The Centaurs and Indians played a hotly contested first quarter which Culver found themselves behind 3-1. But, the Centaurs defense tightened up and held the Indians to only one goal in the second quarter and with two goals by Randell Santiago and a goal each from Kristian Miranda and Carlos Ramirez, the Centaurs had a 5 to 4 going into halftime.

Second-year, head coach Nestor Dordoni Jr made a switch and brought in Jorrel Parreles at goalie for the second half. The Centaurs continued to dominate the game. They outscored Palm Spring 4 to 1 in the third quarter; again with two goals by Abraham and one each by Miranda and Ramirez. Their lead was now 9-5.

Miranda scored his fourth goal of the match and Culver thought it had a safe, bullet-proof lead of 10 to 5. But Palm Springs thought differently. They came storming back and took the game's momentum. They made a run, scoring three unanswered goals, cutting Culver's lead to two with 2:37 left, and putting the contest's outcome in question.

Culver's defense stepped up, once again, deflecting numerous passes and shots as the Indians circled the goal and the shots that got through were stopped by Parreles. But, when Abraham got his fifth goal of the game on a break away with about one minute left, it seemed to take the steam out of the Palm Springs attack and secured the win.

The Centaurs continued on their championship trek on the road by beating Los Amigos HS 12-10; setting up the CIFSS Division 6 semi-final game with Valley View at 5:00 pm in Mira Costa's new aquatics center (a neutral site). If the Centaurs can continue their winning ways, they would play the winner between Tustin (18-10) and Hillcrest (22-8) for the CIFSS Division 6 championship on Saturday.