LODI ADVANCES IN WATER POLO PLAYOFFS
Lodi High boys water polo coach Dan Christy breathed a sigh of relief.
That was because No. 5 Lodi had a lot of suspense in the final seven minutes against a determined Gregori squad in Tuesday’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoff game. But the Flames held off a late run by No. 12 Gregori to post a 1210 win at Tokay’s swimming pool.
“That was a barn-burner,” said Christy, who tapped the left side of his chest two times where his heart is.
The victory moves Lodi (17-8), which took second place in the Tri-City Athletic League, into Thursday’s quarterfinal game at No. 4 Rocklin. According to the section’s website — cifsjs.org — the match will be played at Whitney High, Rocklin’s second public high school, at 5:30 p.m.
Rocklin, a member of the Sierra Foothill League. Rocklin rocked No. 13 Kennedy of Sacramento 19-9 in their playoff contest. The Lodi-Rocklin winner will face the No. 9 Oak Ridge-No. 1 St. Mary’s winner at Johansen High of Modesto on Tuesday, Nov. 6.
Leading 10-7 entering the fourth period, Gregori, out of Modesto, had three different players score to tie the game at 10-10 with 4:13 on the clock. The Jaguars’ Nathan Oh, Ethan Wetzel and Nate Johnson scored a goal each, thanks to their teammates creating open shots and forcing Lodi turnovers near the Jaguars’ net and outside lanes of the pool.
“They just came on strong,” said Christy of the Jaguars. “I was hoping we’d get a couple of more goals. Then they came back and tied it up.”
Christy called a time-out after the Jaguars tied the game with 4:09 on the clock. Feeling that the momentum was swinging toward Gregori’s side, the Flames’ time-out swung the momentum back onto their side of the pool.
Lodi snapped the tie with 2:01 left in the game. Coming off a blocked shot by Flame teammate Eli Kim that gave Lodi offensive possession, Jack LeBaron had the ball in his hands and took the shot from outside for an 11-10 lead.
Then the Jaguars looked like they were going to notch the game again at 11-11. In front of the Flames’ goal, Johnson battled with Lodi’s Benton Peterson and LeBaron for possession of the ball, as Lodi goalie Triston Gorham was nearby. Peterson and LeBaron were able to pull the ball away from Johnson, who was able to get the ball back but threw it out of bounds on a shot on goal.
“We knew who their shooters were, coming in,” said Christy of Tuesday’s playoff game. “They are good shooters.”
After a Lodi turnover, Gregori had one more offensive chance to cut the Flames’ lead to one. But Gorham blocked a shot by the Jaguars’ Corben Wong.
Alexander Elrod added the Flames’ final goal with 45 seconds left in the game, taking a pass from Kim and shooting into the center of the net for a 12-10 score.
“They figured out who our players
were, our shooters,” Christy said. “They did a good job covering them, and allowed them to get back in, get that momentum swing.”
Lodi, which held an 8-4 lead at halftime, extended it on a goal each from Victor Plunkett and Matt McCay for the 10-7 score in the third period. But the Jaguars’ trio of Johnson, Oh and Wetzel led their team to outscoring the Flames, 3-2, despite Lodi clinging onto its small lead.
At the start of the second period, Lodi led 6-2. Thanks to an all-team defensive effort in forcing the Jaguars to take forced shots that missed in the first period, the Flames looked like their offense could have their way against the Jaguars’ defense. But Gregori adjusted to the Flames’ outside shooting that limited their shots on goal.
“We’re a good outside shooting team,” Christy said. “We just kept pounding that ball.”
Elrod and LeBaron scored a goal each in the second period for the Flames. Those came late in the period after the Jaguars trimmed the score to 6-4 after Johnson and Wetzel scored a goal each.
The first period had the two teams trading goals for a 2-2 score. Johnson and Sean Gutowski had a goal each for the Jaguars. Peterson and Plunkett responded to each of Gregori’s goals to tie the game.
Then LeBaron gave Lodi a 3-2 lead with 3:29 thanks to an outside shot that went uncontested. He had another goal later in the period, plus one from the middle of the pool from McCay that gave Lodi a 4-2 advantage. Elrod had the Flames’ next two goals for a 6-2 lead entering the second period.
“We had big momentum going,” Christy said.
Gorham had nine saves for Lodi. LeBaron had four goals in the game. Elrod finished with three, while Plunkett and McCay had two each. Peterson had the other goal.