Dons defense leads way to semifinals

Goalie Sean McGee had 14 saves in a fantastic defensive effort from the Santa Barbara High boys water polo team who held their quarter final opponents, Royal High, to just one first-half goal en route to a 9-6 win at the Villa Park Tournament.

“We were really in sync with what we needed to do,” head coach Mark Walsh said.  “It was definitely one of our better performances of the year.”

Cristian Bridley led the team with three goals, while Nick Johnson and Evan Robertson had two each.

Alec Linz was a key component to the fine defense played throughout the game, and had an excellent game despite being tasked with guarding UCLA-bound Cody Moore for the entire match.

The Dons only allowed one goal in six 5-on-6 tries from Royal, and the win puts them through to the semifinals.

Santa Barbara plays against El Toro tomorrow at 3:00 PM with a trip to the tournament finals on the line.

SCORE BY QUARTER:

SB:  2  2  2  3  –  9
R:    0  1  3  2  –  6