OC Varsity » Mater Dei boys water polo

Albano's polo predictions: Servite vs. Mater Dei

DAN ALBANO, ocvarsity.com — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:41:03 +0000

BOYS WATER POLO

SATURDAY'S DIVISION II FINAL

SERVITE (20-13) VS. MATER DEI (23-7)

Site, time: William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center (adjacent to Irvine High), 3:45 p.m.

Prediction: The Friars' magical run ends against a better team. Mater Dei and Coach Chris Segesman finish the championship climb they started four years ago and ride defense to the school's first water polo title.

Boys water polo finals preview: Servite vs. Mater Dei

DAN ALBANO, ocvarsity.com — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:59:24 +0000

BOYS WATER POLO

SATURDAY

DIVISION II FINAL

SERVITE (20-13) VS. MATER DEI (23-7)

Site, time: William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center (adjacent to Irvine High, 3:45 p.m.

Outlook: In the teams’ Trinity League showdown Oct. 9, host Servite scored the first four goals but the Monarchs rallied for an 8-5 victory.

Top-seeded Mater Dei is seeking its first section title. Last season, the Monarchs made their first appearance in a CIF final but fell to Villa Park, 6-4.

Mater Dei’s playoff run has been powered by stingy defense. The Monarchs are allowing an average of 3.6 goals per match. Goalie Colin Carroll is averaging 11 saves in the run.

Attacker Alex Wherry (88 goals) has paced the Monarchs’ scoring in CIF by averaging four goals per match.

Unseeded Servite finished in a three-way tie for second place in league and won a tie-breaker match to enter the playoff as the Trinity’s No. 3 entry.

The Friars have a powerful center in Cruz Smithson (92 goals) but have flourished in the playoffs with a balanced attack. Six players scored in a 9-7 victory against JSerra in the semifinals while five scored in a 9-8 upset of second-seeded Villa Park in the quarterfinals.

Servite is 2-0 in Division II finals this decade (2005, 2002).

Albano's polo predictions: Mater Dei vs. Riverside Poly

DAN ALBANO, ocvarsity.com — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:22:22 +0000

Wednesday's match

DIVISION II SEMIFINALS

RIVERSIDE POLY (21-9) VS. MATER DEI (22-7)

SITE, TIME: William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, 6:30 p.m.

PREDICTION: The Monarchs appear to have locked in their mission command. The Bears' Gavyn Wild proves to be the best goalie in the division, but Mater Dei advances to its second consecutive Division II final.

Albano's polo predictions: LB Millikan-Mater Dei

DAN ALBANO, ocvarsity.com — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:54:22 +0000

Thursday

Division II second round

Long Beach Millikan (18-10) at Mater Dei (20-7)

Prediction: The Rams, 13-9 winners against MLK in the first round, have a sharp record but haven't face the amount of competition that Mater Dei has. The top-seeded Monarchs begin their playoff trek with a decisive victory. Look for the number of goals Mater Dei allows as the better indicator of where the Monarchs are at.