Merced defense shines in section water polo victory

The Merced High School boys water polo team’s defensive pressure gave Oak Ridge fits from start to finish.

The Bears turned steals into goals as they raced to a big lead early and cruised to a 19-8 victory in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs Friday at Johansen High.

Merced (20-7) advances to a quarterfinal matchup Tuesday at 11 a.m. against Lodi at Tokay High.

“We’ve been playing good pressure defense all year long,” Merced coach Kit Gratton said. “We talked about changing to a drop and we tried that a couple games, but we’re much better pressing and countering. That was key (Friday).”

Merced recorded 16 steals and turned just about every one into a quick transition goal.

The Bears sprinted to a 6-1 lead by the end of the first quarter with the help of three goals by Josh Fluetsch, who finished with four goals and three assists.

Three quick assists by Chris Ybarra helped Merced extend the lead to 13-4 early in the third quarter. Abraham Santana added back-to-back goals to put the Bears ahead 15-4 with 1:34 left in the third quarter.

Santana finished with a game-high seven goals.

“Our defense was really good,” Santana said. “We were pressing the lanes and creating turnovers. We’re faster than most teams so we were just burning.”

Ybarra added three goals, and Merced goalie Nathan Latronica stopped 11 shots.

The Bears know Tuesday’s matchup with Lodi, a bigger squad than Oak Ridge, will be much tougher.

“Lodi is solid,” Gratton said. “It’s going to be a challenge. They move the ball around the pool well.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2014 at 9:45 PM with the headline "Merced defense shines in section water polo victory."