With 36 of the best boys’ water polo teams from Southern California converging upon Thousand Oaks High School last weekend for the prestigious “2011 Conejo Classic,” the Malibu High School boys knew they had their hands full playing schools with much bigger enrollments. After a rough start, the Sharks bounced back to win three of five contests at the two-day tournament last weekend, finishing ninth.
MHS split its games on Friday, running away with a 13-3 victory against Bishop Alemany High School, but suffering a tough 16-1 setback at the hands of host Thousand Oaks. Malibu then struggled out of the gate Saturday morning, losing to El Modena High School 11-8.
Next up was a crucial game versus Foothill High School, the pivotal game of the weekend. Either the Sharks would battle back and learn from their defeats for a hopeful victory, or lose again and be staring at a 1-3 start to the season.
Foothill led 6-5 going into halftime on a quick goal that just beat the buzzer. Foothill’s goalie launched a pass the length of the pool to Brent Bockover, who flipped a shot past a surprised MHS goalie Dane Sartorius.
But the Sharks battled back. The third quarter was all Malibu as the Sharks scored five unanswered goals to take a 10-6 lead into the fourth and final period. Foothill closed the gap to 10-8 with 4:47 left when senior center Michael Mitze who had scored three goals in the third quarter, went to work again. Mitze scored back-to-back goals, the second of which came on a penalty shot with 1:26 remaining in the game to make it 12-8 in favor of Malibu. Sartorius made the lead stand up with some timely saves as the game finished 13-10.
“We just started playing offense like we needed to and did a good job of anticipating Foothill’s turnovers and counterattacking,” MHS Coach Michael Mulligan said. “We were a little more patient offensively and that’s what we have been stressing. Have patience.”
Lesson learned, the Sharks applied that patience as they went on to defeat Hoover High School 10-7 in their final game of the tournament. They finished in ninth place out of 36 teams, with a record of 3-2 on the weekend.
Malibu, the 2010 Tri-Valley League Champions and CIF Division VI runner-ups, is not likely to face competition in conference play the likes of which it saw last weekend. But Mulligan said that competition would help his team as the season progressed.
“These were good quality games and it’s been super for us,” Mulligan said. “We always try to get into some strong competition and we try to schedule tough pre-season games so when we get into league we are not surprised.”
The players agreed.
“This tournament made us better because we played teams in higher divisions,” Sartorius said.
MHS received strong contributions from several players on the team over the weekend. Sartorius, a junior, was sensational in goal, notching 47 saves for the tournament. Henry Buckley contributed 11 assists during the tournament and George Karaghossian added 11 steals for the Sharks. Mitze concluded the tournament with a team-high 12 goals, with Theo Guillemot not far behind with 10.
“We all rely on each other,” said Mitze. “Once we get going, it’s hard to stop us. That momentum is what helps us keep going. We are a well-rounded team and we will do well this year.”
The Sharks will host Rio Mesa High School in their home opener on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 3:15 p.m.