Ben Spievak stepped in at goalie and sparked San Marcos to a 16-9 win at Corona-Santiago in the first round of the CIF Division 2 boys water polo playoffs on Thursday.
Spievak made eight saves in the win.
“Ben Spievak stepped up huge in the goal for us as Jack Palmer was unable to play due to illness,” said San Marcos coach Jeff Ashton.
After a 7-7 tie in the first half, Spievak and the San Marcos defense held Santiago to two goals in the second half.
“Our defense did a much better job helping Spievak out in the second half and we outscored them 5-0 to close out the game,” said Ashton.
Spencer Wood scored 5 goals, Jesse Morrison had 4 and George Kuesis chipped in 3 for the Royals.
San Marcos plays host to Mira Costa in the quarterfinals on Saturday at Santa Barbara High’s pool.
