This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Mira Costa Cruises Past Ayala in CIF Opener

Mustangs' water polo team needs a little push early, but jumps out to a big lead behind a barrage of goals and goes on to beat the Bulldogs 15-7.

Ayala High's trip from Chino Hills to picturesque Manhattan Beach got ugly quick when Mira Costa High jumped on the Bulldogs early and rolled to an easy victory Wednesday in the opening round of the CIF Division 3 playoffs.

"That was our goal and our intention to go out hard," said Mira Costa Coach Jon Reichardt. "We didn't want them to hang around or keep them in the game."

With Jake Miller sparking a dominating first-half run, Mira Costa coasted to a 15-7 decision to advance to the second round. The Mustangs will host La Canada on Friday at 3:15 p.m.

Find out what's happening in Hermosa Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mira Costa got off to a strong start, but Reichardt wasn't pleased. He lit into his players during the break between the first and second quarters, even though the Mustangs were holding a 3-0 lead.

"Do your jobs," he screamed. "This is your match. Swim the pool and give 100 percent every time."

Find out what's happening in Hermosa Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When asked about it after the match, Reichardt said that he just wanted his players to enhance their focus.

"I didn't think they were playing with the intensity that they should be playing with," Reichardt said. "It took a quarter to get going. I think after the first period they did that. It wasn't like they were playing bad or anything, they just weren't intense."

The Mustangs (22-8) got the message loud and clear. They picked up the intensity in the second period and buried Ayala (15-14), the No. 2 entry from the Sierra League.

Two goals by Ryan Koverman to open the second quarter increased Mira Costa's lead to 5-0. Julian Monk scored with five minutes remaining in the period to make it 6-0. It took the Bulldogs almost 10 minutes to score.

Keaton James, who provided the bulk of Ayala's offense, finally ended the drought with a goal at the 4:03 mark, but it did little to stop Mira Costa's offensive barrage.

Monk and Miller added goals late in the second period, giving the Mustangs an 8-1 advantage at the half.

Ayala rallied in the third period behind the scoring of James, who finished with five of the Bulldogs' seven goals. James scored three consecutive times to cut Mira Costa's lead to 8-4 with 4:04 remaining in the third, as Ayala took advantage of careless passes and missed shots by Mira Costa.

The Mustangs shook off their woes midway through the period to regain control. Despite the brief stretch of sloppy play, Reichardt said that he never was concerned.

"The game goes in waves," he said. "That's just the way it goes sometimes. You just have to deal with what happens. It wasn't a big deal."

After the two teams exchanged goals, Justin Pratt gave Mira Costa a 10-5 lead with 2:10 to play in the period. The Mustangs added a pair of goals for a 12-5 lead at the end of the third.

In the final period, Mira Costa scored quickly and wiped out any hopes of an Ayala rally. Three consecutive goals by Charlie Manclark capped the scoring as Mira Costa advanced to the second round.

Related:

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Hermosa Beach