A shorthanded Santa Barbara High boys water polo team pulled off an impressive season-opening win, beating Mira Costa 9-7 on Saturday. It was the Dons’ first-ever win at the Manhattan Beach school.
Santa Barbara never led until Preston Schlagel scored with four minutes to go in the fourth period. The Dons outscored the Mustangs 3-0 in the period to steal the win.
Mason Pereira and Peter Loomis also scored in the final stanza.
Goalie Gio Goggia came up huge down the stretch, stopping two shots in the last two minutes.
Schlagel played a solid game, posting a team-high four goals and five steals and drawing two ejections. Cristian Bridley had two goals and two drawn expulsions. Nate Hunter, in his first varsity game, had a team-high three assists.
Santa Barbara was missing last-season’s leading scorer Evan Robertson and 3 other major contributors, said coach Mark Walsh.
Nice coverage that the local paper missed! Thank you Presidio Sports for keeping SB in touch with local sports.