Road to the CIF Playoffs: Boys Water Polo

Preseason

The Lancers entered the 2022 season with a new coach, Jacob Moore, and many returners on a team that made the Open Division playoffs in 2021.  

Despite having eyes on a return to a CIF Title, Moore had bigger goals in mind. “My biggest thing is building the culture within this team,” says Moore. “It’s awesome to have all these great players…but at the end of the day, they’re human beings. We have to grow them as people, not just athletes. If I can fulfill my purpose in building them up as strong young men, men of character, that’s what I’m here for. I’m excited for that.”

Regular Season

The Lancers got off to a rocky start to open the campaign.  After an opening day win over Palos Verdes, OLu dropped three straight to top teams Harvard Westlake, Los Alamitos, and Huntington Beach.  Through 11 games, the Lancers record stood at 5-6.

But when the schedule turned to the second half of the year, the Lancers hit their stride.  OLu knocked off Santa Margarita and Servite to open league play 2-0.  Then, the week of October 17th is when the Lancers hit full flight.  Following two wins over Bosco and Menlo High School, OLu headed to the Memorial Tournament in Northern California at 11-9.  After winning their opening two games, they squeaked out two one-goal wins in the semifinals against Bishops and the finals against Los Alamitos to take the championship home.  The Lancers went 6-0 over a 5-day span. 

They finished the season winning 11 of their final 15 games for a record of 16-10 and 3-2 in league play.  When the playoff draw came out, the Lancers were slotted into the Division 1 bracket with an opening-round game against Aliso Niguel. 

CIF Playoffs Round 1 vs. Aliso Niguel

The Lancers traveled south to open up the 2022 CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs against Aliso Niguel on Wednesday evening.  After one quarter, the Lancers led 5-3.  However, it was the second that they opened up the lead.  The Lancers used a 6-0 2nd to lead 11-3 at halftime.  That would be all they needed as they went on to win 18-11 to advance to the quarterfinals. 

CIF Playoffs Quarterfinals vs. Palos Verdes

OLu outlasted Palos Verdes 16-14 in an exciting quarterfinal matchup on Saturday morning to book their spot in the CIF Division 1 Semifinals.

It looked like it would be smooth sailing for OLu after an early 3-0 lead.  But Palos Verdes responded in a big way, ripping off seven straight goals to take a 7-3 lead.  

The Lancers closed the gap just before the break and trailed 8-6.  OLu rallied to tie the game at 12, headed to the fourth.  And in the fourth, OLu put away the Sea Kings for the 16-14 win.

OLu will play Corona del Mar in the semifinals on Wednesday, November 9, at 4 pm at Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine.

CIF Semifinals vs. Corona del Mar

The Lancers are headed to the 'ship.

Jon Carcarey's goal with 46 seconds left in Wednesday night's CIF Semifinal propelled the Orange Lutheran boys water polo team to an 11-10 win over Corona Del Mar and booked the team's spot in their 2nd ever CIF Championship game.

It was a game of runs right from the start.  The Sea Kings took an early 3-1 lead, but OLu responded with four unanswered goals, with four different Lancers finding the scoresheet to give OLu a 5-3 lead after one.

But CDM outscored OLu 4-1 in the 2nd to take a halftime lead 7-6.

In the 3rd, OLu shut out the Sea Kings, while Carcarey scored two goals and Jackson Benners netted 1 to take a 9-7 advantage to the final period.

Up 10-8 with 3 minutes remaining, CDM netted two to tie it at 10.  Carcareys goal gave OLu the lead for good.  Goalie Greg Moore would deny the final chance for CDM with 30 seconds left.

OLu will play for the CIF title on Saturday, November 12, against  Foothill.  The game time is TBD, but it will be held at the Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine.

CIF Finals vs. Foothill

Champions!

For more information on the boys water polo team visit us on Instagram or at oluathletics.org.