Calabasas defeats Thousand Oaks in boys’ water polo, 12-10

MORRIS COHEN/The Acorn GOING FOR A GOAL--Ben Meir, left, of Calabasas shoots the ball as Kyle Knapp of Thousand Oaks moves in during last week's water polo match at Calabasas. The Coyotes are 6-1, 2-0.

The Calabasas boys’ water polo team defeated Thousand Oaks, 12-10, in a Marmonte League matchup that took place at the Calabasas High School pool last week.

Sean Roberts led the Coyotes with four goals, Stephan Salter scored three, Dylan Zmed had two and Larry McLinden, Ben Meir and Alex Student, each had one.

For the Lancers, Quinn Delgado led with six goals— high scorer of the game—P.J. Elias had two, and Willie Alderson and Michael Blanchard each scored once.

"I would have liked to have seen them play a little better defense," said longtime Calabasas head coach Dave Hershman. "But I’m kind of a perfectionist, so a win is a win and I’ll take it. Anytime we can beat a Marmonte League school, we’ll take it."

The Coyotes led 4-3 after one quarter and 8-6 at halftime, but T.O. scored the first two goals of the third quarter to tie the score at eight. Calabasas rallied to go ahead, 10-8, after three quarters.

"I think we’ve improved a lot," said Lancer first-year coach Michael Giles, "but this kind of a game showed some more weaknesses. Ten points should win. We need to tighten up our defense and we had more than enough scoring opportunities to win it."

The T.O. coach said Calabasas has been underrated.

"I think Calabasas has been ignored in the polls," said Giles, "and after watching them play in the Zach Hahn Tournament, I knew they were solid. They should not be taken lightly. This is clearly a team that should be ranked."

Calabasas finished third in the Marmonte League last year, the first year the Coyotes played in the Marmonte League, and qualified for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoffs.

"I think they would like to be a contender," Hershman said of his players’ goals for this season. "They want to, maybe, raise some eyebrows."

Giles said the emergence of Calabasas only works to bolster the strength of the Marmonte League.

"This is going to make our league that much tougher. I think everybody is in the hunt," said Giles, regarding the eventual quest for the playoffs. "This could be one of the more brutal years. Calabasas is for real. They’re a smart team with guys that have been playing club polo."

Roberts and Salter are the Coyote captains.

"The leadership is good," Hershman said. "And I think the other guys feel as though they could be leaders without being captains."

Hershman said his team is bonding well, but added that it can become even stronger.

"The players just have to realize that the chemistry is good and maybe realize that everybody can contribute, not just a few," said Hershman.

Giles hopes to add stability to the Lancer water polo program.

"It’s an outstanding group of guys and they’ve had a rough time with five coaches in five years," said Giles. "It’s a great group of parents and this was a wonderful opportunity to move back to my home county."

Giles graduated from Oxnard High School. He lives in Moorpark and now teaches P.E. at Thousand Oaks.

"We’re now 6-4, and we were previously ranked in the CIF polls," said Giles. "We have a strong team with some good leadership, but it’s just coming together where our guys are on the same page."

The win improved the Coyotes to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in league play.

The Calabasas coach said he expects the Marmonte League to be a dogfight.

"I think its Agoura, Royal and Newbury Park," Hershman said, when asked to size up the league. "T.O. and Westlake are much improved, so there’s a lot of parity in the league. Every Marmonte League game we have to be ready to play."

The Coyotes finished third in the tournament they hosted, the Zach Hahn Tournament. In the championship game, Malibu defeated Crespi.