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NEWPORT COAST — Mater Dei’s boys water polo team continued to navigate a fresh course in the CIF-SS playoffs with focus and determination.
The Monarchs sprinted to a four-goal lead in the first quarter at Sage Hill and never let the Lightning draw closer than two goals en route to an 11-8 victory in the Division 1 quarterfinals on Thursday.
In its first appearance in the section’s No. 2-ranked playoff division since 2009, third-seeded Mater Dei (15-13) will play at No. 2 Harvard-Westlake (12-15) in the semifinals Wednesday.
Harvard-Westlake is competing in the section’s No. 2 playoff division for the first time since 1991.
Defender Noah Jurgensen showed his urgency and versatility by scoring four of his five goals in the first half to set the tone for Mater Dei.
Junior Ace Chen added all three of his goals in the first period as the Monarchs led 8-4 at halftime.
“We’re bringing just as much effort as we would have brought if we were in the Open (Division),” Chen said. “Even though we’re in D1, none us our down about it. We’re all still excited to go try to win that Division 1 championship.”
First-year Mater Dei coach Erik Zimmerman agreed, “We just continue to grind and work hard.”
Mater Dei moved closer to its eighth section title by defeating upstart Sage Hill (21-6).
The Lightning beat Yucaipa 14-12 in the first round for their first Division 1 victory in program history.
The Monarchs held high-scoring left-hander Luke Weichert to one goal and limited the Lightning to a 2 for 9 effort on the power play.
Weichert and Jurgensen are both seniors committed to UC Irvine.
“He fought hard. They fought hard together. Our team fought harder,” Jurgensen said of Weichert, who had six goals against Yucaipa. “He’s a great player. … We pressed him as much as we could and avoided foul trouble. We put a hand up whenever he had the ball.”
Junior goalie Morgan Crichton helped Mater Dei seal the victory in the second half by recording six of his nine saves.
Sophomores Bobby Ray and Aaden Hoang combined for five goals for Sage Hill. Sophomore goalie Noah Rothbard had nine saves.
“It’s huge,” Sage Hill coach Pavle Filipovic said of reaching the Division 1 quarterfinals. “I’m very proud of the team. We’ve been trying to build slowly.”
In the other semifinal, No. 1 Loyola will play host to No. 4 Dos Pueblos on Wednesday.