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San Juan Hills boys water polo coach Rex Sample called a timeout with 4:44 left in the fourth quarter Wednesday night in search of a score-tying goal against surging Yucaipa in the CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinals.
The Stallions created an opening off a cross pass to the far post but the shot banged off the goalie cage.
Moments later, another San Juan Hills shot to tie the score found the post.
Yucaipa capitalized with a strike from center by sophomore Bradley Hull with 2:49 remaining and held on to defeat the host and No. 4 seeded Stallions 10-8 in a tightly-contested match.
“Those late looks, those are really crucial to convert,” Sample said. “We came into it knowing that it was going to be a tough one. It was going to be a back and forth battle. But that’s what happens when you play Division 1. You get tough games right away and it never stops.”
Right on cue, the first clash of the fall between Yucaipa ( 24-9) and San Juan Hills (20-8) produced seven ties and two lead changes.
Yucaipa closed on a 3-0 run, including the only two goals of the fourth period, to advance to Tuesday’s semifinals against the winner of No. 1 Westlake and El Segundo. It will be Yucaipa’s first appearance in the Division 1 semifinals.
“A lowly Inland Empire team coming out here and playing D1 water polo, it just says something about our program,” Yucaipa coach Ty Hudson said.
Yucaipa used its driving ability and quick entry passes to center to draw numerous exclusions and penalty shots. The Thunderbirds converted 3 of 5 penalty shots — including three by Hudson’s son Tate — and went 2 for 7 with the extra attacker.
San Juan Hills finished 2 for 4 on the power play.
Blake Minkler, a junior like Tate Hudson, led Yucaipa with five goals, including a sweep shot from center to tie the score 8-8 with 50 seconds left in the third.
Junior attacker Charles Montano paced San Juan Hills with four goals. Goalie Cameron Maisonneuve added four of his saves in the second half, including one against a penalty.
Montano agreed with Sample that San Juan Hills should be proud of its improvement this season. The South Coast League runner-up reach the Division 1 quarterfinals for the first time.
“A lot of players,” Montano said, “rose up this year and played their (butts) off.”
Montano spotlighted seniors Dylan Poladian and Owen Price as two of the most improved players. “I’m proud of both of them,” Montano added.
In other Division 1 matches:
Huntington Beach 11, Long Beach Wilson 10: Senior Dusan Djordjevic scored with about one minute left to lift the reigning Division 1 champion Oilers past the visiting Bruins at Westminster High. Huntington Beach also received a blocked penalty shot in the fourth period from goalie Henry Haddad.
In the semifinals, Huntington Beach will play Mira Costa, a 15-10 winner against Laguna Beach.
In Division 2:
Irvine 13, Murrieta Valley 11: UCLA commit Sam Bowman scored six goals and Sean Dory added four to help the Vaqueros knock off the top seed to reach the semifinals Tuesday against Brea Olinda.
Capistrano Valley 11, Damien 10: Samy Hadjaz scored on a penalty drawn by Matt Bauer with 17 seconds left to the lift the host Cougars into the semifinals. Hadjaz finished with three goals and four assists.
More results to come
