Water polo: Harvard-Westlake ends Mater Dei streak with 9-6 championship win

Brian Flacks, 25, the youthful but confident Harvard-Westlake water polo coach, had promised that his team would make subtle changes in strategy after losing three times to Santa Ana Mater Dei this season.

“There’s definite things we haven’t shown them we’re going to show them,” he said.

In the most important game of the season, the Wolverines came through on Saturday in Irvine, beating Mater Dei, 9-6, to win the Southern Section Division 1 championship and deny the Monarchs a chance for a sixth consecutive section title.

Warren Snyder scored four goals for Harvard-Westlake, which won its first championship since 1991. Mater Dei had a 105-game winning streak ended earlier this season by San Diego Cathedral Catholic.

Afterward, Flacks, a former UCLA and Loyola Marymount water polo player, ended up in the pool.

Did he jump? Was he pushed?

“Probably jumped _ too excited to wait to celebrate with my boys,” he said.

Here’s the link to the broadcast of the game.

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