Jags post three wins, three losses in an up-and-down water polo week

Valley Center’s varsity boys water polo team faced some tough competition in the San Diego Open tournament, but earned two wins in five matches. The Jaguars also earned a big win against Army/Navy to give them three wins on the week.
The Jags played at the Army/Navy Academy on Thursday, and after a good start, held on for a 20–11 win.
The Jags got the offense going early, scoring six goals but allowing four in the first quarter. The Jags got their defense in order in the second quarter, holding Army/Navy to two goals while putting away seven of their own to lead 13–6 at half.
Army/Navy picked up their defense in the third, holding the Jags to three goals, scoring three of their own, giving the Jags a 16–9 lead going into the fourth. Valley Center continued to control the game, scoring four more goals while allowing only two to seal the win.
“The boys played well and kept their composure,” head coach Kyle Kline said of the big win.
Ian Macfarlane had an incredible game with nine goals, two assists, seven steals, one block, and earned three penalty shots. Jake Walder had a great game with six goals, three assists, two steals, and earned one exclusion. Dylan Peters also had an outstanding game with four goals, two assists, two steals, and one block. Lucas Coch had one goal, and one steal. Kevin Murphy played well with two assists, five steals, and one block. Shea Swartz played three quarters and had 16 goal saves, two assists, and one steal. Tyler French played one quarter in goal and had two goal saves and one assist.
Last week, Valley Center started play in the San Diego Open tournament with a game against Grossmont last Monday, and the Jaguars couldn’t keep pace in a 17–4 loss.
Grossmont had a solid 5–1 start in the first and continued to control the game to the finish.
Macfarlane had two goals, one steal, one block, earned one exclusion, and one penalty shot. Walder had one goal, and three steals. Murphy had one goal, one assist, and one steal. Swartz had five goal saves.
The second game of the night was against Escondido, and after the game went to overtime, the Jaguars couldn’t get a goal and suffered a 14–13 loss.
The Cougars were able to put away three goals right away, but the Jags were able to put away three of their own to tie the score at the end of the first. The Jags gave up three more goals in the second and were only able to score two to give the Cougars a 6–5 lead at half.
The Cougars put together five goals in the third while allowing only three for the Jags to lead 11–8 going into the fourth quarter.
The Jags came out in the fourth quarter with some intensity and were able to pull within one goal with less than a minute left. The Jaguars had a huge stop defensively and took control of the ball with 17 seconds left to play. After a timeout the Jags were able to tie the game with a huge goal from Macfarlane, sending the game into sudden-death overtime.
Both teams went scoreless after the first overtime quarter, but halfway through the second overtime quarter the Cougars were able to put away the game winning shot for the one-goal win.
“It was disappointing for the guys to lose a close one like this,” Kline said. “They worked hard and had an excellent fourth quarter.”
Macfarlane had five goals, one assist, five steals, and earned one penalty shot. Walder had a big game with five goals, four assists, and four steals. Murphy had one goal, one assist, and one steal. Cody Wolf had one goal, one assist, and two steals. Lucas Coch had one goal, and one assist. Connor Macfarlane had three steals. Swartz had a huge game with 18 goal saves.
The Jaguars took on Clairemont in their third game of the tournament, and after a slow start, rebounded to force overtime for the second consecutive game. But once again, the Jags couldn’t get the game-winner in extra time and took a 16–15 loss.
Clairemont took an early 2–1 lead in the first quarter. The Jags had a slow second quarter, giving up three goals only scoring one to trail 5–2 at half.
Valley Center stepped it up, putting away five goals in the third allowing four to trail 9–7 going into the fourth. The Jags had another good quarter, scoring five and allowing three to tie the game at 12 at the end of regulation.
After two three-minute quarters, the score was again tied this time at 15. In sudden death overtime, Clairemont was able to score on a lob shot to win the game.
“This was a tough loss for the guys,” Kline said. “They played an excellent second half to earn an opportunity in overtime.”
Ian Macfarlane had seven goals, one assist, five steals, two blocks, and earned one exclusion. Walder had seven goals, one assist, and two steals. Dylan Peters had one goal, four assists, one steal, and one blocks. Swartz had a big game with 29 goal saves.
The fourth game of the tournament was Saturday at Santana High School against Chula Vista, and this time the Jaguars scored early and often to take a 22–10 victory.
The Jags took a 6–3 lead after a solid first quarter. Chula Vista was able to score two more in the second, but the Jags put away another six to lead 12–5 at half.
Valley Center was able to control the game from there, outscoring Chula Vista 10–5 for a 12-goal win.
“This was a good win for the guys,” said Kline. “We started to gain some momentum early and worked well as a team.”
Ian Macfarlane had seven goals, four assists, six steals, four blocks, and earned one exclusion. Walder had six goals, seven assists. Wolf had a big game with four goals, two assists, and six steals. Peters had three goals, four assists, two steals, and earned one exclusion. Coch had one goal, one assist, and one steal. Connor Macfarlane had one goal, three steals, and earned one penalty shot. Swartz had seven goal saves.
The fifth and final game of the tournament was against Mar Vista, and the Jaguars held off a late charge to win, 10–8.
After one quarter, the score was tied 2–2. The Jags came out in the second quarter and put away five goals, while allowing only two, to lead 7–4 at half.
Both teams were only able to score one goal in the third, giving Valley Center an 8–5 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Mar Vista came on late in the game to score three goals, but the Jags were able to hold them off for a two-goal win.
“This was another big win for the guys,” Kline said. “They had to battle hard for four quarters and played some excellent team water polo. Putting in a solid charge in the second quarter paid off in this game.”
Ian Macfarlane had four goals, and one assist. Walder had four goals, one assist, and two steals. Peters had one goal, one assist, and two steals. Murphy had one goal, two assists, and three steals. Swartz had six goal saves and two assists.
This week the Jags finish off league play with two big games. The first of the week is Tuesday against Canyon Crest at Adams Park. The last game of the regular season is Thursday against Del Norte at Adams Park. Both games are at 4 p.m.
In an unfortunate turn of events this week, the Valley Center varsity boys water polo team was forced to forfeit seven games when a clerical error led to the team playing with an ineligible player.
VCHS athletic director Mike Cummings admitted that the error was not the fault of the team or the player involved, and added that this is the first time in the school’s history that a varsity team has forfeited a contest.
Since the Jaguars lost four of the seven games anyway, the net result is three more losses on the record, giving the Jags a mark of 7–13 overall and 4–2 in league.
However, the forfeits mean that the Jaguars would be ineligible for the playoffs, since CIF rules state that any team with five or more forfeits is ineligible. Schools have the option to appeal, and Cummings said that the Jaguars have submitted an appeal to be able to participate in the playoffs this season.