Water Polo Match Well Worth the Price of Admission

It was the kind of game you'd pay to see, not that admission is normally charged at boys water polo matches hosted by Coronado High.

But this one was different. Islanders coach Randy Burgess and his coaching counterpart and friend from La Jolla High, Tom Atwell, had planned something special for weeks. "Pack the Pool" was the theme Wednesday afternoon as Coronado edged La Jolla 10-8 in a Western League match at the Brian Bent Memorial Aquatics Complex.

And pack the place they did. Spectators were asked to make a donation at the gate to support the fight against cancer. Money collected will be donated to the Lance Armstrong Foundation's LiveStrong program, which inspires and empowers people affected by cancer. Many in the crowd wore yellow, undoubtedly the famous cyclist's favorite color.

The Islanders trailed just twice in the game at 7-6 and 8-7 before scoring the final four goals in the last eight minutes of play. But Coronado never led by more than two and there were six ties along the way, including at the end of each of the first three quarters.

Midway through the first period when the game was still scoreless, a scoreboard problem caused an extended delay before it was decided to keep the time at the scorer's table and use flip cards to keep the crowd across the pool aware of the score.

Coronado took a 2-0 lead before the Vikings responded with a pair of goals in the final 30 seconds of the first quarter to tie the score. After the Islanders pulled out to a 5-3 lead midway through the second quarter, La Jolla was able to pull even again by halftime.

Both teams scored twice in the last two minutes of the third period. Brandon Flores, who led the Vikings' attack with three goals, put La Jolla ahead 7-6, but a penalty shot by Coronado's Vandon Burgess made it 7-7. After Nick Reynolds scored to allow La Jolla to regain the lead, Tommy Grall skipped a ball off a defender and into the goal with just under a second left to knot the score at 8-8 after three periods.

Patrick Geer scored what would prove to be the game-winner with 6:33 remaining on Coronado's first possession of the fourth quarter, his third goal of the afternoon. Goalkeeper Garrett Sabesky then fended off several La Jolla scoring attempts down the stretch before Nick Wiley scored on a breakaway with 15 seconds left as La Jolla tried to put on the pressure at the other end.

"We had to play without a starter (center forward Eitan Peled), but the other guys filled in and did the job," said Randy Burgess, who like Atwell praised his opponent. "They're (the Vikings) a great group of kids, and win or lose, we've got a lot of respect for them."

"This is always a fun matchup," echoed Atwell. "It's always great to know you're going against quality kids. It was a tough game for us. We had a lot of close shots that were just near misses."