The Live Oak boys water polo is hot and continues to find a way to win each game.
This past week, the Acorns have gone 3-0 with a blow out against Mt. Pleasant, a nail bitter against Gunderson and a solid win over Independence.
The Acorns (9-0) are undefeated in Santa Teresa Division play despite playing a bunch of freshman and sophomores because it doesn’t field a junior varsity team.
All of this is to help boost the Acorns to the Mt. Hamilton Division next season.
Mt Pleasant win
Live Oak allowed Mt. Pleasant to stay in the game a little longer than it had expected in the first quarter, but a dominating second and third quarters allowed the Acorns to start getting younger players in the game and ultimately roll on to an 18-4 win.
Kai Leong and Colin Edgar both had five goals with Gregor Jones adding a hat trick.
Perrin Lower had two goals and Brian Wilde, Rhett Thorson and Mitchell Reynolds all added goals in the win.
Live Oak was up 5-2 after the first quarter with Edgar scoring the game’s first two tallies, followed by goals from Leong and Jones.
But Mt. Pleasant scored a pair of quick goals to pull within two before a score from Jones made the margin three.
Lower led the Acorns in the second quarter with his two goals of the night as Live Oak started working on offensive sets with its younger players to take a 9-2 lead at the break.
The Cardinals did not get off a shot in the frame and turned the ball over six times.
In the third, Leong, Edgar and Cones led the charge as Live Oak’s lead ballooned to double digits before closing things down with four goals in the last quarter to clinch the victory.
Gunderson
For as easily as Live Oak won against Mt. Pleasant, the next day was just equally as tight.
The two teams went to a sudden death OT period before Live Oak finally came away with a 9-8 victory.
Jones had six of the team’s nine goals.
Live Oak trailed after the second quarter 5-3 and were still down by 9-6 going into the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, Jones hit two big shots to tie the game at eight, sending the game into overtime.
After a scoreless OT period, the game went into sudden death where Max Klein hit the winner.
Live Oak had just denied Gunderson a golden opportunity in front of the net and went on the quick counter the other way.
Brian Wilde fed Klein with a pass in front of the cage and Klein finished off the game.
Independence
The Acorns followed up with a win against Independence on Tuesday with Jones returning to form.
He had four goals in the first quarter alone as the Acorns raced to a 12-7 win over the 76ers.
Jones finished with five goals for the day with Leong and Kyle Zentner both tallying a pair of goals.
Live Oak led 6-1 after the first quarter and clung to a 6-3 lead at the half.
But the Acorns came out firing with five goals in the third to take control of the game, leading 11-5 going to the fourth.