It’s been a couple years since Clairemont won a senior game, and that fact wasn’t lost on the class of 2027 Friday night at Mesa College.  And to top things off, it was a rivalry match with a team that embarrassed them last year in the University City Centurions.  The Centurions also came as the favorites, ranked 9th in division 2 while Clairemont came in at 14th.  The match was tightly contested to start however, with UC finding the opening goal of the match and showing Clairemont they were ready to play.  But the Captains responded in turn with senior Preston Coleman converting a power play to get his team on the board.  Freshmen Ryder Sagastume helped the Class of 2027’s cause with a great inside finish a couple of possessions later to put Clairemont up for the first time, but the Centurions answered back late to knot the game up at 2-2 at the end of 1.

The Captains were not deterred by UC’s strong start and came out fired up and focused in the second quarter.  Sagastume helped put his team back in the lead off the first possession of the quarter with a brilliant drive and finish off a pass from Junior Ryan Fegan and followed up the next possession by earning a power play that ultimately ended with a powerful goal from Junior Corbin Giles on the post to put Clairemont up 4-2.  The Centurions called for time to try and stymie Clairemont’s momentum, but the Captains could not be denied!  After Junior Cullen Holland stuffed UC’s timeout shot, the boys countered down and once again found Sagastume on a drive to extend the lead to 5-2.  After a few back-and-forth possessions, Coach Kienle called for time to run a set play.  The Captains executed to perfection – Senior Luis Pereyra got open for a pass, drew in the defense with a pump fake, dumped an entry into Coleman who earned and eventually scored on a power play!  The Captains closed out the half on a 4-0 run to go up 6-2.

Clairemont continued to cook in the third quarter as a team, but none more so than Junior Graham West who went total berserker mode!  West could not miss in the third with 4 straight absolute laser beams that ripped through the back of the netting to give Clairemont their biggest lead of the night at 10-4.  With a big lead and only 1 quarter remaining, it was the seniors who came in to close out the 4th quarter and put the clamps down on the Centurions.  A 5-2 onslaught ensued firmly putting the game out of reach.  And no play was more adequate of the night than the final one.  Senior Ian Spears playing hard to the final whistle earned a power play, and as the boys worked the ball around, senior Gavin Botham located senior Brixton Morey on the post for the emphatic slam dunk finish to cap off an excellent win on senior night!

UP NEXT

The Clairemont Boys Water Polo team improves to 10-9 on the season and is 1-1 in Eastern League play.  Up next, the boys host a big-league tilt against #3 La Jolla Country Day.  The game is on Wednesday at 3:30pm at Mesa College.  Come out and support your CAPTAINS!!

STATS

Corbin Giles (1), Shawn Spears (1), Ryan Fegan (1)

Assists: Ryan Fegan (3), Ryder Sagastume (3), Gavin Botham (1), Graham West (1), Shawn Spears (1), Derek Pryor (1)