The boys’ water polo team defeated Huntington Beach 10-7 in the semi-finals of CIF playoffs at Woollett Aquatic Center and will now face a rematch against Newport Harbor High School. 

The Game

The squad previously faced the Oilers in the semi-finals of the South Coast Tournament Sept. 21, where the Wolverines managed to defeat them 13-9. In this game, the squad began the game quickly, outscoring the Oilers 3-1 in the first quarter. After being outscored 4-2 in the second and third quarters,

Boys Water Polo (@CIFSS Semifinals): @HwPolo 5, @HB_OilerSports 5 end of 3rd

— Harvard-Westlake (@hwathletics) November 14, 2019

the Wolverines rallied, scoring five fourth quarter goals and winning the match 10-7. Attacker Shay Gillearn ’21 describes how the squad managed to win this semi-final matchup.

“We prepared really hard for the game and our hard work paid off in the end,” Gillearn said. 

Rematch against Newport Harbor

With this win, the team will now face Newport Harbor in the CIF Southern Section Division One Championship Nov. 16, who they faced last year in the same game. This game marks the fourth matchup this year between the Sailors and the Wolverines. Previously, the Wolverines beat the Sailors 11-7 Sept. 21 and 8-7 Oct. 5, while the Sailors defeated the Wolverines 11-9 on homecoming night.Goalkeeper Asher Schwartz ’21 describes how the squad is preparing for the game on Saturday. 

“We will be focusing on [Newport Harbor] by watching film on them and learning their tendencies from previous matchups,” Schwartz said. “We will take that information and try to use it to stop them in the finals.”