SOUTHERN SECTION WATER POLO : San Clemente Rallies to Win; Corona del Mar Also Advances

San Clemente rallied from an early two-goal deficit to defeat North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, 7-5, Tuesday in the Division I water polo quarterfinals at Saddleback College.

With the victory, San Clemente advanced to Friday’s semifinals, where it will play Corona del Mar.

The Tritons (21-7) fell behind in the first three minutes, trailing, 2-0, after the first quarter.

Andy Bailey started the comeback, scoring midway through the second quarter. The Tritons got goals from Jimmy Farley and Marc Staudenbaur to take a 3-2 lead, but Harvard scored twice to take a 4-3 halftime lead.

San Clemente took the lead for good in the third quarter, with goals by Andy and Sam Bailey, and led, 5-4, after three quarters.

The Tritons stretched their lead to 7-4 midway through the fourth quarter, stopping several late Harvard flurries to preserve the victory.

“We knew we had to keep them under eight goals,� Triton Coach Steve Yancey said. “After the first quarter we settled down and we came through as a team.�

Andy and Sam Bailey each had two goals and goalie Gabe Gardner recorded eight saves to lead the Tritons.

In other Division I games:

Corona del Mar 15, Capistrano Valley 5--Corona del Mar took a 7-1 halftime lead and never looked back in the quarterfinal game at Saddleback College.

The Sea Kings led, 2-0, after one quarter, but they scored five in the second, added three in the third, and scored five in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. Capistrano Valley pulled to within 9-3 in the second half, but could get no closer.

James Palda and Neil Hueston each had five goals and goalie Doug Gitan had six saves to lead Corona Del Mar (21-3). Bryce Kelly scored twice to lead Capistrano Valley (15-12).