Led by a stingy defense and goalkeeper Nick Dale’s 13-save performance, Mira Costa’s boys water polo team held South Pasadena in check to preserve an 8-3 win in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 quarterfinals on Saturday,
In their quest for a fourth CIF title, the top-seeded Mustangs (25-6) advance to the semifinals where they will face fourth-seeded ML King (22-8) of Riverside at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center in Irvine on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
King defeated Mira Costa 7-6 in last year’s semifinals and was a 13-10 winner over Montebello on Saturday.
Mira Costa spread around its offense with seven players scoring goals. Austin Norris scored twice for the Mustangs with both goals coming in the second quarter to help Mira Costa take a 5-1 lead into halftime.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 6 Palos Verdes (20-11) will face second-seeded Santiago/Corona (23-8) at 3:30 p.m. The sixth-ranked Sea Kings eliminated third-seeded Tesoro 8-6 in the quarterfinals.
In Division 4, No. 9 El Segundo (23-7) lost to second-seeded Cerritos 13-4 in a game played at Mira Costa high School.
