HACIENDA HEIGHTS — Justin Contreras just didn’t want to lose, and because of his effort, the Los Altos High School boys water polo team.
Contreras scored nine goals, including eight in the second half, and the host Conquerors rallied for a 17-14 victory over victory over Walnut Tuesday afternoon in a Hacienda League game that featured two teams ranked in the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 top 10.
TGeorge Millard had four goals and David Herrera had 15 saves for Los Altos, which improved to 10-7 overall and 3-0 in league play. The Conquerors, who face No. 1 Glendale on Friday, began the week ranked No. 6 in Division 5.
TX Body: Scott Media had nine goals and Jeffrey Silverberg three for Walnut, which slippes to 2-1 in league play. The Mustangs are ranked No. 2 in Division 5.
Los Altos’ Justin Contreras: “We just came out (for the second half) like we wanted it. In the first quarter, we didn’t seem to have too much intensity. In the second half, we came out with a little more confidence and played loosely.”
Los Altos co-coach Bobby Contreras: “I never count his goals. When I heard he had nine goals, that’s a good game for him. I’m always as a coach looking to spread it around, but it looked like with nine goals it proved he wanted this game quite a bit.”
Los Altos co-coach Chris Coleman: “This is big, very big. It’s our pre-CIF week. We have No. 1 (Glendale) and No. 2 (Walnut). They are our league rivals, they beat us here last year on senior day, so our boys wanted this win.”
Walnut coach Mike Rieben: “We just made mistakes in the second half. They capitalized on our mistakes.”

– Steve Ramirez
@steverramirez on Twitter