Irvine and Portola boys water polo teams both notched CIF quarterfinal round victories Saturday to advance into the semifinal round of the CIF Division 3 playoffs Wednesday night.
The two Pacific Coast League rivals will meet Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Woollett Aquatics Complex in Irvine, Irvine’s home pool. The winner moves on to the finals, also at the Woollett Center, on Saturday, Nov. 19 vs. the winner of the other semifinal between Capistrano Valley and Damien.
In the quarterfinals Saturday, top seeded Portola defeated Costa Mesa 19-14 while Irvine advanced with a 17-11 victory over Claremont.
“We’ve thought the entire year that CIF would at some point lead to a Irvine vs Portola game,” said Irvine Coach Tijmen Egtberts.
“We are confident in our abilities, but Portola is a high-level team that can put any team in trouble. We just have to prepare for what they want to do and find a way to counter it. It’ll be a chess match like a seven-game series in the NBA. We will need to be ready to counter their offense and defense and find good looks when our counters get countered.
“I respect Portola and their coaching staff too much to predict any outcome. Portola knows what they need to do to win and I’m sure they’ll be prepared to do so. It’ll come down to who plays with the most intensity.
“I’m proud of my guys and their resilience these past couple games. We’ve seen a lot of adversity with guys sick or slightly injured. We have found a way to push through. As I’ve said this entire post-season: ‘one game at a time.’ We need to be fully prepared for Portola and see if we can play hard enough to win. “
Goalkeeper Joao Santos had 15 saves for Irvine (24-6). Ben Clarke and Sam Bowman scored four goals each and Camden Peterson and Zach Beliveau had three goals each for the Vaqueros.
The Vaqueros opened the playoffs with a 13-7 victory over Poly of Pasadena, then defeated Crescenta Valley 12-9 in the second round.
Portola, the PCL champion, had a bye in the first round before defeating Elsinore 13-10 in the second round. Coach Kate Avery’s team is 23-3 and has been top-seeded all year.
SATURDAY FINALS
Division 1
Laguna Beach 10, Servite 8
Foothill 9, Mira Costa 3
Orange Lutheran 16, Palos Verdes 14
Corona del Mar 13, Long Beach Wilson 9
Division 2
San Clemente 13, Palm Desert 9
La Serna 14, Beckman 7
Division 3
Portola 19, Costa Mesa 14
Irvine 17, Claremont 11
Capistrano Valley 9, Northwood 6
Division 4
Downey 7, Crean Lutheran 5 (CLICK HERE FOR STORY)
Schurr 9, Canyon 4
Division 5
Westminster 9, Royal 8
Buena Park 8, Xavier Prep 7
Division 6
Savanna 10, Tahquitz 9
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