Aquinas falls in water polo title game
MIAMI — Reaching four consecutive state title games wasn’t the only prize the St. Thomas Aquinas boys water polo team wanted Saturday.
An Eric Goldenberg goal with 53 seconds left in the third quarter brought Aquinas within two goals and a chance at a second title in three seasons. Miami Belen Jesuit then scored three unanswered while shutting out Aquinas in the fourth quarter. It was enough to send the Raiders to a 14-9 loss in the state champion- ship game at Ransom Everglades.
“We had opportunities but we didn’t convert on them,” said Raiders coach Michael Goldenberg. “We made too many mistakes on defense. That was the key. We had our chances and if you don’t use them, you lose them.”
The Raiders (25-2) fought to a 3-3 tie in the first quarter until the Wolverines (26-1) began to pull away.
Belen scored five unanswered goals including three in a row from Ryan Guso, who finished with a match-high six goals, to take a 8-3 lead with 2:39 left in the second quarter.
Goals from star sophomore Parker Strickman and Eric Goldenberg helped the Raiders cut the lead to 11-9 late in the third.
The goals created tightest margin since first quarter.
“I thought it was a wellplayed game by both teams,” the the said Eric Goldenberg, who finished with four goals. “Then we made mistakes and they countered on most of them. They deserve to win this game. There was no question about it.”
Eric Goldenberg’s late third-quarter goal was the last of the Raiders’ season and the final for what has been a successful senior class.
It is a senior class which has been at the vanguard of the program’s most prolific period.
Aquinas’ string of four consecutive state title games began in 2012 when it lost by two goals to Miami Gulliver Prep. A year later, the Raiders beat Belen by three for the first title in program history. Aquinas’ reign ended the next year in a loss to Gulliver.
Should Aquinas seek a fifth consecutive state title game appearance, it will depend upon certain underclassmen.
The Raiders return Strickman, who scored 44 goals coming into the state tournament. His offensive production will have to replace the 100-plus goals scored by Eric Goldenberg and Gal Ben Kiki, who scored a team-high 66 before the tournament.
Strickman will be surrounded by sophomores Robert Schulte, James Burnette and junior James Parker. All three played a minimum of 15 games while scoring at least 10 goals.
The Raiders also return junior goal keepers Alex Pullin and Alex Falcon. Pullin, who is 6-foot-7, played in 20-plus games while the 6-4 Falcon featured in 16 games coming into the tournament.