Merced boys water polo team rallies to beat Turlock

Trailing by a goal entering the four quarter, the Merced High boys water polo team needed a spark.

Josh Fluetsch provided it.

The Bears senior scored three of his six goals as Merced raced past Turlock with an 11-9 win to remain tied with Atwater atop the Central California Conference.

Merced (7-2 CCC) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter with goals from Fluetsch and Anthony Rivera. The Bulldogs (6-3) came back to lead 7-6 after three quarters.

“Before the fourth period, I told our guys, ‘I still believe in you guys as a team,’” Merced coach Kit Gratton said. “I told them we had to pick it up but we can’t freak out or panic. We need to come out and attack.”

The Bears picked up the pressure on the defense, and that led to turnovers and goals in transition.

Abraham Santana finished with three assists and seven steals.

▪ Atwater 12, Golden Valley 5 in Atwater – The Falcons (7-2 CCC) kept pace with the Bears atop the conference with the win.

▪ Pitman 11, Buhach Colony 8 in Turlock – Noah Lamerson and Tristan Subang Howard each scored three goals for the Thunder.

▪ El Capitan 12, Livingston 2 in Livingston – Steven Koenig scored seven goals and picked up three assists as the Gauchos improved to 7-0 in the Western Athletic Conference.

GIRLS WATER POLO

▪ Merced 15, Turlock 10 in Merced – Kathryn Elgin poured in seven goals and Jane Eckles added five goals and five assists as Merced (8-1 CCC) clinched at least a share of the conference title.

▪ Atwater 11, Golden Valley 5 in Atwater – Nicole Goodnight scored six goals and recorded four steals as the Falcons cruised. Kirsten Knobloch had one goal and five assists for Atwater. Anna Neufeld and Kyla Bender had two goals each for Golden Valley.

▪ El Capitan 10, Livingston 3 in Livingston – Hope Stokes had a nice all-around game with four goals, three assists and three steals to lead the Gauchos (7-0 WAC).

TENNIS

▪ Los Banos 7, Central Valley 2 in Ceres – Shirly Liu and Amanda Marchese won their singles matches as the Tigers extended their WAC winning streak to 60 league wins and finished a 12-0 season for their fifth straight WAC championship.

This story was originally published October 23, 2014 at 10:22 PM with the headline "Merced boys water polo team rallies to beat Turlock."