Dos Pueblos head coach Chris Parrish said he was glad to have a tough opponent scheduled on Monday, as it was the Chargers’ only match in a 12-day stretch leading up to a Channel League boys water polo clash with Santa Barbara next Tuesday.
Dos Pueblos' Derek Shoemaker
Kevin Cappon takes the game-winning penalty shot on Monday against JSerra.
Parrish certainly got what he wanted from visiting JSerra, a 13-12 overtime struggle that ended with Dos Pueblos holding on to defeat the No. 2 team in Div. II.
Kevin Cappon recorded the game-winner – his fifth goal of the match – on a penalty shot at the end of the first overtime period. The senior created the opportunity by making a heads-up steal and feeding Chase Racich in front of the Lions’ goal, where Racich drew the 5-meter shot.
“I saw this guy wasn’t looking at me,” Cappon remembered. “So I just snuck under water and popped up. He had no idea.”
Dos Pueblos nearly won the game in regulation, but the Lions’ Nik Santala, their leading scorer with four goals, slid one past DP goalie Brady Moore with two seconds left to tie the match at 12-12.
“We haven’t had a barn-burner like that in a while, so it was good to get the rust off for Santa Barbara,” said Chargers goalie Brady Moore, echoing his coaches sentiments.
“Our schedule at this point is kind of soft. We have these big gaps,” noted Parrish, whose team had another week-plus break between games earlier this month. “We really needed a tough oppenent this week to see where we are at so we’re not rusty when it comes to Santa Barbara.”
The Chargers, ranked No. 4 in Div. I, grabbed an 8-6 halftime lead by outscoring the Lions 4-2 in the second quarter. JSerra returned the favor in the third period by tallying four unanswered scores before Conner Cleary’s second goal tied the game at 10-10.
“Basically we just switched to press and we pressed everywhere,” said JSerra head coach Peter Asic of his team’s third quarter success, citing the need to shut down Cappon and Shoemaker from the outside.
DP made the adjustment to the pressing in the fourth quarter, eventually wearing down the Lions, who only had one player on their bench.
Shoemaker would give DP a late 12-11 edge by scoring with 28 seconds on the clock, which was then nullified by Santala’s final goal, setting up Cappon’s game-winner in OT.
“Kevin is pretty clutch when it comes to those,” Parrish said of the deciding penalty shot.
Shoemaker, Cleary and Jarred Rassler scored two goals each for the Chargers, who improve to 15-4 overall, 3-0 in league.
DOS PUEBLOS 13, JSERRA 12, OT
JSerra 4 2 4 2 0 0 — 12
Dos Pueblos 4 4 2 2 1 0 — 13
JSerra Scores: N. Santala 4, Glove 2, Cerden 2, A. Santala 1, Hewlo 1, Menhold 1, Clinkerbeard 1. DP Scores: Cappon 5, Shoemaker 2, Rassler 2, Cleary 2, Racich 1, Van Alphen 1.
