LJ b water polo 9, Cathedral Catholic 10 - So Cal Regional semifinals 11/20

Dexter Black (4) scores with time running out,

but it was too little, too late as the Vikings

dropped a 10-9 decision to Cathedral Catholic

in the Southern California Regionals Thurs.,

Nov. 20. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

The Vikings put on a furious comeback attempt after Cathedral Catholic tried to bury La Jolla with a 6-1 lead at 3:13 of the first quarter Thurs., Nov. 20 in the semifinals of the Southern California Regionals.

But the attempt, which closed the gap--of course, on a goal by leader Dexter Black--to 8-7 with less than four minutes left, ultimately fell short. Coach Tom Atwell's best team, winners of the Open Division of the San Diego Section over these same Dons only five days before, saw their dream season end with a 10-9 loss.

With the promised rain holding off until right after the final buzzer, it was apparent that Coach Tommy Corcoran's Cathedral unit were going to do everything they could to avoid a repeat of Nov. 15's upset by the host Vikings at Coggan Complex.

In a psychological bit of gamesmanship prior to the contest, Atwell had Saturday's 15-12 score posted on the scoreboard as spectators filled the seating area.

But in a gesture of sportsmanship, the Dons held out their player who caused La Jolla starter Quinn Daniels' concussion in the section championship. Daniels did not play in either the Tuesday, Nov. 18 Southern California Regional quarterfinal win over Loyola, or Thursday's game.

At the start of the match, it looked like Cathedral was going to blow La Jolla out. Diego Dantas scored three of the Dons' first six goals, broken up only by Henry Glenister's goal to make the score 3-1 ending the first quarter.

Corcoran's game plan was to smother the high-scoring Black. Defenders alternated covering the 6'6" lefty, at times physically pushing against him at the point. Jack Davis and others kept Dexter from setting up on his favorite 4-5 side on the right side of the imaginary rectangle. Dexter could only struggle and push back to get out from under, being called for a foul more than once.

Down 7-2 after the beginning of the second half, Vike center Tor Martin--playing his final game as a prep--scored. Then fellow senior Nate Thomson, under duress, netted a goal. Black, shut out from the field for the most part, took a penalty shot and scored. Finally, Martin scored again to edge within 7-6 with 44 seconds left in the third quarter.

A misdirected throw-in of a replacement ball from the bench caused La Jolla goalie George Gayner to sit out temporarily. The Vikings' defense was strong enough to get them through that unscathed.

Later, Black's goal put the scoreboard at 8-7, before Corcoran was kicked out of the game by the referee on the scorer's side of the pool. That didn't seem to weaken the Dons, who added goals by Max Arnold and Dantas to secure the win.