SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Water Polo

2003 Metro Conference Report

Hilltop Lancers rebound, reload for league

By Phillip Brents
Posted Sept. 23, 2003

It might have taken a couple lop-sided losses but the Hilltop High School boys water polo team may just be heading in the right direction.

A right: Hilltop's Kyle Kovar

The Lancers finished 2-3 in last weekend's 32-team Poway Invitational, absorbing the crushing end of a 13-3 loss to Western League power University of San Diego High School and 20-5 defeat at the hand of Grossmont North League power West Hills.

But after picking up tournament victories against Oceanside (11-8) and La Costa Canyon (8-5) to gain some confidence, Hilltop appeared primed for Monday's 20-6 non-league victory against Mt. Miguel at the Loma Verde pool.

"Though we received a lot of compliments from coaches throughout the tournament, especially from La Jolla, USDHS and Santana on how our program has improved over the past couple of years, we feel we did not play up to or represent our pre-tournament form as when we played University City," said Lancer coach John Salts in reference to an 11-8 loss to the Centurions Sept. 12.

Salts felt his squad, which improved to 3-5 overall, was a much better team than it showed in last weekend's tournament and that might have been apparent in Monday¹s blowout win against the Grossmont South League Matadors.

Hilltop received six goals and two assists from senior Kyle Kovar, who has shaped up as the team's top scorer through eight early season games. Monday's goal total gave him 29 goals and 10 assists for the season. He also has 21 steals -- a figure that also leads the team in that department.

Nick Davidson, who picked up two goals and one assist in Monday's victory, ranks second in season scoring with 17 goals and six assists. Matt Chism, who had two goals and two assists in Monday's win, is giving fast chase with nine goals and 11 assists. Davidson ranks second with 18 team steals; Chism is next with 17 team steals.

The Lancers spread around the scoring against Mt. Miguel, which finished 0-5 in the Poway Invitational with losses to Mar Vista (13-12 in overtime), Fallbrook, La Costa Canyon, Oceanside and Steele Canyon.

Greg Felix and Hesam Jelveh each scored three goals while Jelveh added a pair of assists.

Nine players registered at least a goal or assist, with brothers Corey and Nicko Fix each adding two goals and an assist. Estevan Felix contributed four assists while Garrett Boyle had one assist. Goalie Fernando Yates had four assists and six saves in the contest.

At left: Hilltop's Garrett Boyle

Salts said the team's biggest learning experience from the tournament was the need to improve its reaction time.

"Our teams was slow to respond when reacting to turnovers and counter-attacks each way, which was not the case earlier in the season. Teamwork and defense are definitely an improvement from past years. We will continue to work on becoming a more complete team and will see where this leads us as league matches draw nearer," Salts said.

Kovar led Hilltop in tournament scoring with 15 goals and six assists in the five games, followed on the scoresheet by Chism with six goals and four assists and Davidson with six goals and two assits. Chism keyed the Lancers defense with 15 steals while Davidson had 14 and Kovar had 13.

After falling to the Dons, Hilltop returned to the Santana High pool last Friday and promptly absorbed an 8-5 loss to San Pasqual before earning its first tournament win against Oceanside. Kovar had seven goals, three assists and four steals in the game to highlight a standout performance while Chism also played strong defensively with five steals while contributing a goal and assist. Greg Felix had two goals and one assist while Boyle scored one goal. Estevan Felix had three steals while Yates made nine saves while adding an assist in cage duty.

Salts said he benched a sizable portion of his varsity team for the game because of a disciplinary matter. The result might have been a more focused Lancer team for its next game against the Mavericks -- another Hilltop win. Chism this time got the chance to shine with four goals, one assist and three steals while Kovar contributed two goals, two assists and three steals. Davidson had a goal and assist but led the defensive effort with a team-high seven steals. Boyle added a goal and two assists while Greg and Estevan Felix both each made two steals. Yates had two assists to go with two saves.

The Lancers closed out tournament play against West Hills, with Davidson leading the team with two goals, an assist and four steals. Chism had a goal and three steals while Kovar and Corey Fix both scored one goal. Yates had two assists, six saves and four steals from his goalie position.

Notepad
Eastlake finished 2-3 in the tournament while both Bonita Vista and Mar Vista finished with 1-4 records. However, Bonita Vista showed it pays to win the first game as the Barons topped Grossmont 6-5 before dropping their next three contests to place 16th in the tournament. Bonita Vista lost its first game last year but fought back with four consecutive wins only to place 17th in the 32-team field.

Two-meter set James Hiney led Eastlake in tournament scoring with 13 goals, followed closely by outside driver Sam Gottlieb with 11 goals. Max Lopez scored six goals

after returning to the team from a suspension.

Mar Vista's scoring leaders included Julian Czerwiec (15 goals), Max Craig (nine goals) and Noah Stamm (seven goals). Craig set up Czerwiec for the game-winner in a 13-12 overtime victory against Mt. Miguel.

Andrew Hibbard scored three times and Marc Lewis, Niko Marshall and Gabriel Gonzalez each scored once in Bonita Vista's 6-5 win against Grossmont. The Barons then ran into eventual tournament champion Carlsbad and absorbed an 18-1 loss. Bonita Vista's three remaining games were all close but did not end in favorable results. The Barons dropped a 10-5 contest to eventual consolation champion Valley Center and failed to finish its chances, according to coach Dan Way, in a 14-9 loss to University City. The Barons concluded the tournament with a 8-5 loss to RBV.