A CIF championship for RHS water polo......
The third time was indeed a charm for the RHS boys’ water polo team. After two years of playoff losses against Murrieta Valley, the Terriers knocked the monkey off their back, earning a 7-6 victory over the Nighthawks Saturday afternoon at the William Wollett Jr. Aquatic Center.
It was a great water polo match from the opening whistle to the final buzzer.
Some quick thoughts about it
- Depending on how you look at it, the turning point varied. Some say it was RHS junior goalkeeper Andrew Heine’s stop of Jordan Koeppen’s 5-meter penalty shot in the first quarter. “The difference of the game,” RHS head coach Jeff Lamb would say after the match. Others would say junior Danny Anderson’s second goal with 2:25 left in the game, a goal that gave the Terriers a two-goal lead and a cushion they would not surrender.
- Anderson, who did not start, came up with a clutch performance off the bench. He scored two goals and had a crucial steal in the fourth quarter.
- RHS senior Kyle Adama led the Terriers with three goals and had the honor of holding onto the ball in the closing 12 seconds when the Terriers needed to run the clock out.
- A great crowd on both sides. While I would say MV’s side was the more vocal throughout, the RHS fans picked up the intensity as the match progressed.
Saturday’s victory is the first CIF title in RHS boys’ water polo history and the first team title at RHS since the boys’ tennis team won a title in 2004.