Agoura boys’ polo players, coach nosatisfied with win over Moorpark

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers POWERFUL SHOT—Above, Agoura’s Alex Thompson looks for an open man to pass to. Below, Moorpark goalie Chris Huffman and Agoura’s Cameron Milani both watch as a shot squeaks by during Tuesday’s 7-3 Charger victory. Agoura won and Moorpark lost. That’s an undisputable fact.

But the strange phenomenon lingering around the Agoura High School pool Tuesday afternoon following the Chargers’ 73 victory over the Musketeers was that neither team was very happy with themselves.

In fact, the losing team appeared more upbeat than the winners.

“We came in and had never been in this kind of game before and I think our guys just kind of froze a little with a little lack of experience,” Moorpark head coach Peter Daland said.

“I think we’ll regroup and come out next time and I think we can win it,” Daland said. “I really think we can beat them, if we regroup and understand that if we relax and play our game, we’ll be fine.”

Disappointment followed by optimism is fairly common trait amongst athletes and coaches following a defeat, so it was natural that Daland talked about his squad’s missed opportunities and lack of big-game experience.

Winning, on the other hand, often brings with it a sense of accomplishment and the feeling that a team may be taking a step in the right direction.

Agoura’s Danny Polyakov, who had four assists and one goal in the victory, said beside the play of the Charger defense, there really wasn’t much to like about his team’s win.

“Honestly, I think we played below our potential,” Polyakov said. “Our defense has been playing good for the past couple of weeks, but our offense had trouble putting the ball away.

“Our passes were a little off. Overthrowing a few passes probably meant a few less goals and dropped our momentum a little,” he said.

Moorpark opened up the scoring when Tyler Johnson took a pass from Ben Hadley and whipped a shot past Agoura goalie Ryan Paris with 2:25 remaining in the first period.

Polyakov tied the score with a goal less than two minutes later. Alex Thompson was credited with the assist.

Johnson put Moorpark back on top 24 seconds into the second period when he scored on a laser shot from near the middle of the pool.

Following Johnson’s second goal, Polyakov elevated his play to another level.

In less than a two-minute span halfway through the second period, Polyakov assisted on three goals, with the first score going to Brian Gross, followed by Justin Kovanis putting home two consecutive goals to give the Chargers a 4-2 lead that they’d never relinquish.

Agoura’s Cameron Milani scored just before halftime to put the Chargers out in front 52 at intermission.

Moorpark’s Chris Beattie hit Trevor Johnson with a nice pass midway through the third period that Johnson was able to convert into a goal to bring the Musketeers to within 5-3.

But the Chargers refused to back down on defense and held Moorpark scoreless for the final 10 minutes and 45 seconds of play to preserve the victory.

Thompson and Gross both tacked on insurance goals for Agoura to make the final score 73, in favor of the Chargers.

“To be honest, we just didn’t play well,” Agoura head coach Dustin Litvak said. “We played well defensively, but offensively we had too many bad passes, too many bad reads; we were not patient.

“We had plenty of opportunities to open the game up earlier and we couldn’t convert,” Litvak said. “We were a mediocre team today. Hopefully we can pick that up.”