LJ b water polo 11, Bishop's 9

Viking goalie Cole Raulston (L),
who played a career game in the semis.
(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Local water polo coaches can be pretty secretive about their players' statistics. They don't want any information getting out that might aid opponents in scouting their team.

Cole Atwell, La Jolla's standout and the coach's son, broke through that veil of silence in a big way Wed., Nov. 8, in the Vikings' Open Division semifinal playoff game in their home pool at the Coggan Family venue on campus.

The husky sophomore scored six goals, including the go-ahead goal with two and a half minutes left and an insurance goal with a minute left, to seal La Jolla's place in the finals versus number-one seed Coronado Sat., Nov. 11, with a decisive 11-9 victory over Bishop's.

But Atwell didn't do it alone. Viking goalie Cole Raulston, who stepped up in Saturday's quarterfinal win by stymieing big dog Cathedral Catholic, played another career match. He displayed quickness and deft reactivity in recording 10 saves, including on the Knights' Ford Eldredge just before Atwell's go-ahead goal.

Atwell, on his dagger of a goal on a penalty shot past Bishop's goalie George Hagestad for insurance, was asked if he was thinking right side the whole time. "No, not at all. I waited, I watched him," before deciding to fire the ball in that far corner, while the goalie guessed left.

Hagestad, a tall, physical athlete, came out from in front of the cage to encounter Atwell, who was dribbling the ball as he swam down the pool alone ahead of the rest of the players on a counter. But the goalie, a senior veteran, in trying to be proactive, fouled the sophomore. That gave Atwell the free shot opportunity.

Neither of the rival teams led by more than a goal in the hard-fought match, other than when the Knights went up by two, 8-6, on Max Carrillo's third goal near the end of the third quarter, and then La Jolla with the final margin.

There is just a different level of intensity in the playoffs, and the tension could be felt among the burgeoning crowd. After the end of the first quarter, with the two opponents knotted at 3-3, a large group of additional Bishop's students moved across the south end of the Coggan pool to position themselves next to their seated classmates as an SRO contingent--the student section being filled.

With the two student bodies swapping "We can't hear you" chants, sitting right next to one another, Atwell was able to curve one of his patented soft lobs behind Hagestad to nestle into the net for a 6-5 La Jolla lead with over five minutes left in the third quarter.

Teammate Pablo Rayon, like Raulston a junior, set up Atwell with a beautiful soft pass within Atwell's reach near the left face of the goal that Cole batted in to bring the Vikings within 8-7, trailing by one, shortly before the third quarter buzzer.

Senior Tyler Brown had a hat trick for La Jolla before being ejected with his third personal foul with 1:43 left in the game and the Vikings working hard to maintain a slim lead at 10-9.

Winning the sprint to the ball dropped by the referee at mid-pool to start each quarter can be an advantage. La Jolla won three of four, capitalizing finally in the fourth quarter with a goal by Rayon. Coach Tom Atwell used three different players in the sprint: Maverick Becker in the first quarter, Atwell in the second, then senior Johnny Dickerson for both the second half starts.

In the first period, Atwell missed wide right with a shot attempt after the sprint with only four seconds elapsed on the game clock. In the second quarter, Bishop's stole the ball when a pass went into the two-meter position in front of the goal.

Carrillo scored for Bishop's inside after he got the ball on offense following Merle Richman's successful sprint to begin the third quarter. Richman, a junior, also had a hat trick for the Knights.


SCORING
La Jolla-Bishop's

1st Quarter
0-1  6:32  Bishop's - #15 Merle Richman
1-1  5:34  LJ - #11 Maverick Becker
2-1  2:24  LJ - #14 Tyler Brown
2-2  1:34  Bishop's - #6 Sam De La Cruz
2-3  0:26  Bishop's - #9 Max Carrillo
3-3  0:15  LJ - #13 Cole Atwell

2nd Quarter
3-4  2:56  Bishop's - #15 Merle Richman
4-4  0:30  LJ - #14 Tyler Brown

3rd Quarter
4-5  6:32  Bishop's - #9 Max Carrillo
5-5  6:09  LJ - #13 Cole Atwell
6-5  5:32  LJ - #13 Cole Atwell
6-6  2:51  Bishop's - #15 Merle Richman
6-7  2:12  Bishop's - #10 Ford Eldredge
6-8  0:30  Bishop's - #9 Max Carrillo
7-8  0:13  LJ - #13 Cole Atwell

4th Quarter
8-8  6:39  LJ - #12 Pablo Rayon
9-8  5:02  LJ - #14 Tyler Brown
9-9  4:37  Bishop's - #4 Jack Martin
10-9  2:36  LJ - #13 Cole Atwell
11-9  1:12  LJ - #13 Cole Atwell