Although it finished in fourth place in the Bay League, Redondo enjoyed a season that no other previous boys water polo team can claim.
Redondo (23-11) captured the program’s first CIF title with a 10-7 victory over Walnut in the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 final Saturday at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Complex in Irvine. The game marked the first appearance in the championship game for both schools.
Ethan Igloi’s goal tied the score 7-7 with 3:21 left in the third period, the first of four unanswered goals by the second-seeded Sea Hawks.
When Blake Vogelsang’s shot caromed off the right post, Redondo’s Gavin Pierce grabbed the rebound and found the back of the net with what would be the game-winning goal as time wound down in the third period.
Vogelsang scored twice in the final period to provide the Sea Hawk’s the insurance needed for the win.
Alex Wrightsman recorded three goals in the first period to keep Redondo in the game and goalkeeper Camilo Munoz made 10 saves.
The victory capped off a season where Redondo won its first tournament championship in school history defeating top-seeded Hoover, Poly, Burroughs, Palisades and San Clemente to claim the Long Beach Poly Tournament title.
The Sea Hawks went on to win the Corona Tournament with wins against Lakeside, Xavier Prep, Murrieta Mesa, Corona and Santa Ynez.
The CIF title was a goal for Redondo head coach Chris Murin who took over the program in 2014 after helping Palos Verdes win boys and girls titles.
Vogelsang believes the key to Redondo’s success this year dates back to its summer program.
“We played against a lot of different clubs and developed our team chemistry during that time,” the senior explained. “We had a solid starting core and a strong bench and we beat Division 1 and Division 3 teams during the season, which gave us confidence going into the playoffs.”
Peninsula (21-11), the No. 3 team from the Bay League was the top seed in Division 4 but was upset by Temple City 13-12 in the quarterfinals.
After an 8-5 win against Ventura in the first round of the Division 2 playoffs, Bay League champion Mira Costa (21-11) was eliminated by host Agoura 9-6.
Also in Division 2, Palos Verdes (20-11) lost its first-round game 8-5 to host Redlands East Valley.
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