SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Water Polo

Metro title still goes through Bonita Vista

Barons drop Hilltop 13-6 in matchup of longtime rivals

By Phillip Brents

CHULA VISTA, Oct. 15, 2002 -- The road to this year's Metro Conference championship still goes through Bonita Vista as the 15-time defending Barons demonstrated in their 13-6 victory against Hilltop at the Loma Verde Pool. Fending off an early 1-1 tie and ahead just 2-1 after the opening period of play, Bonita Vista exploded for a run of eight of the game's next nine goals to take a 10-2 lead and hold on from there.

Baron head coach Dan Way felt his team should have handled the Lancers more easily than the final outcome showed and had a long post-game talk with his squad. That should translate as a decent effort put forth by Hilltop.

Trailing 12-3 early in the fourth period, Lancers head coach John Salts told his team to "go out and have fun" the rest of the way -- the result of three unanswered Hilltop goals before Bonita Vista's Andrew Hibbard closed out the scoring with his fifth goal of the game.

The Barons (8-3 overall) take a 2-0 league record into Wednesday's game at Southwestern College against Mar Vista. The Lancers fell to 0-1 in league play, 4-11 overall with the loss.

Freshman Niko Marshall opened scoring in the game for the Barons. However, the lead was short-lived as Nick Davidson evened the score for Hilltop. In a period dominated by defense, goalie saves at both ends and hit posts, Hibbard gave Bonita Vista a 2-1 lead with a shot into the open side past Lancers goalie Will Crumly (12 saves in the game).

Hibbard wasted no time in adding to his team's lead by scoring just 28 seconds into the second period to hike the visitors' edge to 3-1. Mike Pilgrim followed with two of his five goals in the game to push the Barons lead to 5-1 with 2:16 elapsed in the quarter. Hibbard assisted on Pilgrim's first goal; Doug Schulz drew the assist on the second.

After a Hilltop timeout, the Lancers ended the Barons' run of four consecutive goals as Kyle Kovar scored off a long pass down tank by Crumly, who had initiated the play with a steal in front of the cage. However, Bonita Vista promptly reeled off the final two goals of the first half -- one each by senior captain Nate Golder and Pilgrim -- to lead 7-2.

The Barons took control of the game with the first three goals of the second half as goals by Golder, Hibbard and Pilgrim gave them an eight-goal lead. Davidson got his second goal of the game to trim the Bonita Vista lead to 10-3 but Hibbard scored off his own steal to put the Barons ahead 11-3 at the end of three periods.

Bonita Vista led by nine goals, 12-3, after Pilgrim opened the final period with a power play goal. Kovar scored the next two goals and teammate Joe Olivarria followed with a goal for Hilltop to halve the deficit at 12-6.

Kovar finished the game with three goals while Davidson had two goals for the Lancers, who were coming off a 12-3 non-league loss to Clairemont.

Bonita Vista -- which received five goals apiece from Hibbard and Pilgrim and two from Golder -- got back in the win column following a 14-6 non-league loss at Santana on Oct. 11. Hibbard led the Barons with four goals in that game while freshman goalie Chris Hakes had seven saves.

In the junior varsity game, Chris Sanchez had four goals and John Tessitore scored three times to lead Bonita Vista past Hilltop 9-5. Greg Felix had four goals and Cory Fix had eight saves for Hilltop.