Capistrano Valley boys water polo tops Damien to win Division 2 title

WALNUT — The Capistrano Valley boys water polo team battled through the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs coming away with a series of one-goal victories.

The Cougars came out on top in another one-goal game Saturday, and this time the victory came in their most important match of the season.

Capistrano Valley defeated Damien, 9-8, in the Division 2 championship at Mt. San Antonio College.

The one-goal victory was the fourth in a row for the Cougars (26-4), who snapped an 0-5 record in section finals, a stretch that started in the 1989 Division 3A final.

Capistrano Valley was playing in its second consecutive Division 2 championship after being defeated by a goal in last year’s final.

“We returned five guys from last year’s team that played in the championship game,” Cougars coach O.J. Vazquez said. “It’s great to come back and get it done this year.”

Two returning players who remember what it felt like to lose in the 2024 final are twins Samy and Kenzy Hadjaz, who scored four and two goals, respectively, against the Spartans (19-16).

Two of Kenzy Hadjaz’s goals came on penalty shots.

“It’s been stressful,” Kenzy Hadjaz said of the string of one-goal victories. “Got to play through, play hard and get stops. That’s all we had to do.”

The first half was a defensive battle as both teams took their time on the offensive end, making multiple passes and trying to get the ball into the two-meter zone.

After a 3-3 tie at halftime, the Cougars outscored the Spartans, 4-2 in the third quarter.

A goal on a cross-cage shot from Lucas Saman gave the Cougars a 6-3 lead halfway through the third period.

The Cougars led 7-4 late in the third when the Spartans got consecutive goals from Diego Solis and Aaron Kashif Alghita, who scored right before the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter. That goal pulled the Spartans to within a goal.

Sammy Hadjaz scored with four minutes left in the contest to give the Cougars a 9-6 lead when Liam Ferrer and Solis each scored again to get the Spartans to within a goal with just over one minute remaining.

From that point, the Cougars prevented the Spartans from taking a shot and held on for the victory.

“I thought my guys played with a lot of heart,” Damien coach Robert Echeverria said. “We were the underdogs the entire time. Today, things just didn’t go our way. They never gave up. They just kept going. I couldn’t have been any prouder.”

Both teams qualified for the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs.

“We’re just excited to have another day in the water together as brothers,” Echeverria said.