CIF Water Polo: Poly vs. Servite

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008
CIF Water Polo:
Story by J.J. Fiddler
www.LBPOSTSports.com

The Poly boys’ water polo team held down Servite for a half. But half is never enough, and the Friars ran away from the Jackrabbits, 14-4, on Tuesday afternoon at Poly High School. Poly goalie Anthony Gutierrez grabbed 12 saves on the afternoon, but Cruz Smithson and Servite peppered the Jackrabbit defense with shots, as Smithson finished the night with six goals and an assist.
Regarded as one of the top players in Orange County, Smithson was highlighted on Poly’s radar. The Jackrabbits continuously threw multiple defenders at the strong senior, and it worked for a half with Servite only taking a 5-2 lead into the break.
“I felt good at halftime,” said Poly coach Scott Penttila. “Then we came out and scored the first goal, and I was feeling really good… some balls bounced their way, and we went into panic mode a little bit. Our hustle plays diminished.”
Penttila had seen Servite earlier in the season at the South Coast tournament, and knew Poly’s only chance to win was to neutralize Smithson.
After the Jackrabbit score made it 5-3, it was like Smithson flipped his switch. Those hustle plays Penttila mentioned helped the Friars in the 3rd quarter, as Smithson scored four unanswered goals, making it 9-3 Servite, effectively ending the game, and Poly’s season.
“I know we’ve played better teams better than this,” said Penttila after the game. “But we had a solid season. We played good teams and went to good tournaments… we just got the worst possible draw.”
Servite is arguably the most talented third place team in the CIF-SS bracket, coming out of the Trinity League. And even though the score was 1-1 after the first quarter, it never really seemed that close.