Murrieta Valley rolls past Arlington

Nighthawks’ win moves them into Division 3 quarterfinals

MURRIETA >> Pass. Shoot. Repeat.

The Murrieta Valley boys water polo team followed those simple steps on offense Thursday evening and cruised to a 22-7 victory over Arlington in a CIF Southern Section Division 3 second-round playoff match. The third-seeded Nighthawks will travel to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame for today’s quarterfinal round.

Fourteen of the goals scored by Murrieta Valley during Thursday’s match were from the 2-meter position. Westen Diaz scored all six of his goals from there, and Mateo Rivas added five more goals from that spot.

“We did some scouting, watched film and figured that could be the place we would have some success,” Murrieta Valley coach Bryan Lynton said. “We had the game plan, and the players executed it very well.”

Murrieta Valley (19-11) scored goals on seven of its first nine possessions and raced out to a 7-1 advantage. Diaz pocketed the first two goals for the Nighthawks and achieved his hat trick in less than five minutes.

“It all started with that plan from Lynton,” Diaz said about the strategy to feed the ball to the centers as much as possible. “We worked the ball down, and I did my best to get in position. I had the space to execute.” Arlington (19-8) fired off seven shots during that opening quarter but managed to find the net only one time, a power-play goal from Luca Lombardi with 2:47 left in the quarter. Murrieta Valley goalie Aidan Wilkins stopped four of those shots by the Lions, while another two sailed past the cage.

Lynton was pleased to see his players put their foot on the gas pedal from the opening possession.

“It doesn’t get much better than that, for sure,” Lynton said. “It was a great start. I wish we did it more often.”

Diaz and Ortiz each scored a pair of goals in the second quarter to extend that lead to 12-3 at halftime. Diaz scored his final goal during the third period, and Ortiz found the back of the cage three times in the fourth.

Murrieta Valley had allowed 49 goals over its previous four matches, with each of its opponents scoring in double figures. The seven goals surrendered Thursday was the fewest by the Nighthawks in a month. Wilkins registered 10 saves and a pair of steals before giving way to Seth Stenson at the start of the fourth quarter.

“I rely a lot on my shot blockers, and today I was looking to get out and steal a little more,” Wilkins said.

Logan Fox and Titus Elliott added three goals apiece for the Nighthawks on Thursday. Luke Requelo finished the match with six assists, while Nathan Gallardo and Kevin Shin each had three assists.

Lombardi led the way for Arlington with four goals.

ejohnson@scng.com