The way top-ranked Mater Dei plays water polo, Dos Pueblos goalie Phillip Bates knew he was in for a busy afternoon.
As expected, Bates saw a multitude of shots from the Monarchs, and he did a tremendous job stopping 14 of them. But Mater Dei’s relentless attack and firepower was too much for the Chargers to handle through four periods and they succumbed to the onslaught, 18-7, on Thursday at the Elings Aquatic Center.
Coached by DP graduate and 2004 U.S. Olympian Chris Segesman, Mater Dei is loaded with experience and great talent. It lost only one starter (Liam Gaughan is now playing at UCSB) from the team that won the CIF Division 1 championship last year.
“They’re like No. 10 in Division 1 … NCAA,” quipped DP coach Chris Parrish. “They’re very good, they’re very legit. They have a lot of talent and Segesman does a great job keeping them focused.
“They look polished,” he added. “If any of my teams were playing that well at the end of the season, I’d be happy, and he’s got them playing that well at the beginning of the season.”
Dos Pueblos is rebuilding after losing the bulk of its team that was knocked out by Mater Dei in the semifinals.
Bates and Sjors Van Alphen are two returnees and they turned in strong performances against some high pressure.
“We feel bad we gave up so many shots, but the truth is he plays great,” Parrish said of Bates.
On Van Alphen: “He’s been a starter for three years and we expect a lot out of him,” said Parrish. “Maybe that’s unfair because he’s been a role player for so long. He needs to be a leader and today he showed leadership.”
Playing in their first match of the season, the Monarchs were eager to get in the pool against an opponent. They got a little too rambunctious and gave DP a penalty shot in the first minute. Van Alphen, the Chargers’ leading scorer, converted for a 1-0 lead.
Mater Dei responded with six unanswered goals from all over the pool. The fifth goal was an impressive backhander by robust 2-meter player Anthony Daboub.
“We’ve played 70-80 games from the end of last season through the summertime to the beginning of this season,” Segesman said. “The kids play all together, they don’t play for different clubs, so that’s tremendous. They know how to play with each other, they know their tendencies. That really helps in the development of the overall team structure.”
Grant Schroeder caught the Monarchs off guard with a shot off a quick estart and the quarter ended with DP trailing 6-2.
Mater Dei reasserted its authority on the game at the start of the second period, rolling up four straight goals for a 10-2 advantage. The second goal was especially tough for DP as Bates made back-to-back blocks like a volleyball middle blocker only to see Jon Walters crash in and score on a rebound.
Bates had eight saves in the first half.
Dos Pueblos got some momentum in the third period, scoring three straight goals — two on 6-on-5s and another on a penalty shot — to cut Mater Dei’s lead to 12-6. The Chargers were awarded another penalty shot, but Monarchs’ goalkeeper Jonathan Van de Velde came up big and stopped Van Alphen’s attempt.
Bret Bonani took over the game for the Monarchs in the fourth period. A prolific goal scorer (156 goals last season), the senior fired in three shots to finish tied with James Walters for top scoring honors with five goals. Jon Walters added four.
Van Alphen led DP with four goals.
Both teams are back in action Friday in the inaugural Santa Barbara Invitational. Mater Dei opens against Murrieta Valley at 1 p.m. at Santa Barbara High, while DP is home against Huntington Beach.
