Costa Mesa boys’ water polo defends Orange Coast League title with win over rival Estancia

When the Costa Mesa High boys’ water polo team got started on the road to defending its Orange Coast League crown, the Mustangs figured that defense would be a strong suit.

In Joey Palmblade, Costa Mesa had an experienced goalkeeper to man the cage for a third year as a starter.

The most pressing question was how the Mustangs would replace the offensive production of Caedmon Fisher, who has gone on to join the Santa Clara University men’s water polo program.

Costa Mesa need not have worried, as a group effort allowed the Mustangs to stay afloat offensively.

Gavin Fisher, Anderson Todd, Will Harrington and Gabe Gerber each scored two goals, as Costa Mesa edged visiting Estancia 9-7 on Wednesday in the Battle for the Bell rivalry to complete an undefeated run through Orange Coast League play for the second straight year.

Costa Mesa’s Anderson Todd celebrates after scoring a goal against Estancia in an Orange Coast League match on Wednesday.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

“It’s been like that all year,� said Dustin Serrano, who coaches the Mustangs with his twin brother, Cody. “That also goes with us losing our top goal scorer from last year, Caedmon Fisher.

“The boys all kind of came together all year, and they understood that they were going to have to take on a heavy load of what he put forth, scoring and doing what he did for us to win games. We’re actually really excited about how well we’ve done all year.�

Costa Mesa (15-11, 4-0 in league) has won eight of its past nine matches. The Mustangs have allowed four or fewer goals in five of those games, a testament to the performance of Palmblade.

Following a 14-save effort against the Eagles, Palmblade said he surpassed the Costa Mesa single-season saves record of James Rydjeski, who had 325 in 2013.

“I thought my boys were playing great defense,� Palmblade said. “My goal for this game was to break the record at this school for saves, and I achieved that. I got 14 blocks this game, so I cleared the record. I’ll be number one now.�

Palmblade added two steals and two assists, both of which went to Harrington for quick strikes in transition.

Wyatt Juelfs also had a goal. Nick Vargo and Xander Luckett each had a field block for the Mustangs defensively.

Costa Mesa’s Wyatt Juelfs, left, and Estancia’s Noah Gniffke battle for the ball in an Orange Coast League match on Wednesday.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

Logan Richard had five goals and three steals for Estancia (20-8, 3-1). He scored the first five goals of the match for the Eagles. In the third quarter, he gathered a defensive rebound and swam the length of the pool before beating Palmblade on a great individual effort.

Later in the period, Noah Gniffke found Richard on a two-on-one breakaway to cut the Eagles’ deficit to 6-4 going to the fourth quarter.

Griffin Beth had seven saves and two steals for Estancia.

Gavin Fisher scored twice in the final frame for Costa Mesa, including the eventual game winner on a penalty shot with 3:51 remaining.

“He knows how to move the ball,� Palmblade said of Fisher, whose brother is Caedmon. “He has great game awareness.

“He might not put up the same amount of goals [as Caedmon], but we did that together as a team this year. We didn’t need an individual. We have a team synergy this year that we didn’t have in the past years.�

::

Support our sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.

For more sports stories, visit latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/sports or follow us on Twitter @DailyPilotSport.