Sharks Water Polo Ready for CIF Title Run

The  boys varsity water polo team is on a roll at just the right time—heading into the CIF playoffs. To get ready for the postseason, the Sharks played two tough teams this week and managed to win both games. 

The first game was Friday afternoon at Santa Monica High School against the Division 3 powerhouse Vikings. Even though Samohi is ranked 10th in its division, the Sharks caught the Vikings in a rebuilding year and outplayed the school district rival on their way to a 7-6 victory. 

Leading the Shark attack was senior Theo Guillemot with four goals, two steals and one assist. Jordan Clarke, Emmet Pierson and Michael Mitze also scored and George Karaghossian had three assists and two steals. Goalie Dane Sartorius was back in goal after missing a few games due to injury and had 14 blocks.

Probably the only concern for head coach Mike Mulligan was that the Sharks led almost the entire game and by a 5-2 score at halftime, but only managed a one-goal win over a team they clearly dominated. Malibu had a whopping 17 turnovers in the game, including 11 in the second half. The Sharks also threw some poor passes and had occasional ball control issues.  

"They kept it interesting," said Mulligan with a grin after the game.

The next day, the Shark Tank was the site for the annual game against Arroyo Grande. The Eagles have had a strong season and are ranked 8th in Division 4. They play aggressive water polo and gave the Sharks all they could handle.

The game opened with back-and-forth goals by both teams, but the quarter ended with two straight goals by the Eagles and a 4-2 lead. Clarke got his second goal of the game on a five-meter penalty shot for the only score of the second quarter, and the Sharks were within striking distance at halftime thanks in big part to Sartorius' excellent play in the goal.

Clarke tied the game at the beginning of the third quarter with a goal on a great pass from Karaghossian. But a penalty against Malibu allowed the Eagles to take the lead again on the next possession. Then Guillemot passed to Mitze, who scored a great goal from the set position and the score was tied 5-5—setting up an exciting fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter started with Karaghossian getting his third assist on a pass to Pierson in front of the goal that was followed by an eruption of excitement from the fans on the pool deck. But yet again, the Sharks were penalized and the Eagles scored on a 5-meter penalty shot to tie the score at 6. Then with a couple minutes left, Morgan Hathorn passed to Mitze who fired it into the goal for another lead. 

The Sharks then committed yet another penalty, but managed to stop the Eagles on more excellent goal tending by Sartorius. This set up the goal of the game as Mitze made a pinpoint pass to Hathorn in front of the goal and he redirected it in, and the crowd roared in excitement and left happy with an 8-6 victory for the home team.

The Sharks finished the regular season with a 19-6-1 overall record and a share of the Tri-Valley League title with Oaks Christian. Malibu will host Hemet at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday in the first round of the CIF playoffs.

The JV Sharks played their last two games of the season and ended an excellent year with a close 4-3 loss to the Vikings and a 10-4 win over Arroyo Grande. Mulligan is going to bring several of the JV boys up to varsity for the CIF playoffs, so they can see what it is like to compete at the top high school level and hopefully get some playing time. Their strong play this season is also excellent news for next year's varsity team, as the top players will move up to what already looks to be an excellent team for next season.