Jaguars win twice in water polo

The Jaguars got two key wins this week, giving them momentum as the season winds down.
(photo by Cathy Schwickert)

The Valley Center varsity boys water polo team played two big games this week with the playoffs looming, and the Jaguars pulled out a pair of wins to gain momentum heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
To start the week, the Jags took on Del Norte last Tuesday at Del Norte High School and held on for a 9–8 win.
The Jaguars had a good start defensively, holding Del Norte to only one goal but were able to score only one in the first. The Jags were able to score one goal in the second holding Del Norte scoreless to take a 2-1 lead at half. Del Norte gained some momentum in the third putting away four goals. The Jags adjusted defensively and slowed them down and were able to put away three goals of their own to tie the game at five going into the fourth. Both teams traded goals throughout the fourth quarter.
Cody Wolf scored with 1:45 left to play to take an 8-7 lead. Del Norte was able to capitalize on a mistake and tied the game at eight with 1:20 left on the clock. Wolf again stepped up and was able to put away a key goal with 17 seconds left on the clock to take a 9-8 lead. Del Norte took a timeout to set up a play giving the Jags an opportunity to set up their defensive plan. Ian Macfarlane came up with a huge steal allowing the Jags to take their final timeout and run out the clock for the win.
“This was a big win for the guys,” said head coach Kyle Kline. “They battled hard all four quarters and came up with some key goals at the right time.”
Dylan Peters was on fire with five goals, one assist, one steal, one exclusion, and one penalty shot. Ian Macfarlane played well with two goals, five steals, two blocks, and saved the game with a huge steal at the end. Cody Wolf had a big game with two goals, including the game winner, and three assists. Connor Macfarlane had one assist and four steals. Shea Swartz had a huge game with 16 goal saves.
The Jags then took on Orange Glen at Washington Park on Thursday, and came out firing on all cylinders to take a 14–3 win.
Valley Center scored two in the first and held Orange Glen to just one for a slim early lead. But the Jaguars broke the game open with four goals in each of the final three quarters, while holding the Patriots to just one goal in the third quarter and one more in the fourth.
Ian Mcfarlane led the way with four goals, while Walder had three goals, Wolf had two goals and three assists, Kevin Murphy and Lucas Coch each had two goals and an assist and Dylan Peters had an assist. In goal, Swartz made eight big saves to get the win.
Valley Center is now 7–10 overall and 4–1 in league play, with the San Diego Open Tournament continuing this week, as well as a game at Army/Navy on Thursday at 3:15 p.m.