Polo team seeks revenge

The pieces are just about in place.

If the Agoura and Royal boys' water polo teams both win this afternoon-the Chargers play at Newbury Park while the Highlanders host Calabasas-AHS and Royal will do battle Friday afternoon at the Rancho Simi Community Park pool in Simi Valley with a share of the Marmonte League championship at stake.

"Ever since we lost to (Royal), we've just taken it one game at a time," said Agoura junior Peter Kurzeka, who scored four goals during the Chargers' 10-8 victory over Thousand Oaks on Tuesday.

"We were hoping it would be us and them in the end," he said. "After we lost the first time, we tried not to get down. We kept our hopes up knowing that we could still get them. And I think we've got a chance because we've been playing really well."

The first time Royal and Agoura played this season, the Highlanders prevailed 11-9. While Royal received scoring contributions from several players, Kurzeka was Agoura's primary offensive source, scoring six of the team's nine goals in defeat.

AHS head coach Dustin Litvak said his squad has done a better job of getting everyone involved in the offense since losing to RHS, adding that the Chargers are also healthy and at full strength, which wasn't the case early on.

Despite traveling to a hostile environment where Royal hasn't lost a match in half a decade, Litvak wants his team to play relaxed.

"We can't talk the game up as much as we did the first time," Litvak said. "Maybe we made too much out of it the first time and maybe some of the guys cracked under the pressure.

"We definitely have a variety of talented players, but if it comes down to a one-man show again, it's going to be tough to beat them."

Royal enters today's action as the top-ranked team in Division IV. The Chargers are 22-4 overall and 9-1 in league. AHS is rated second in the division.