Balanced Attack Propels Bonita Water Polo to a Date in the Desert

November 11, 2010
Share this story:
Alec Williams goes on the attack.

Alec Williams goes on the attack.

Using a 9-0 blitz that touched all or part of four quarters, Bonita on Wednesday cruised to an 11-4 opening-round win over wild-card winner La Salle in La Verne.

Six different players scored for Bonita, led by Alec Williams with four goals, followed by Alex Munson and Keaton Renta with two each, and Matt Zachary, Alec Snow and Nick Wallman with one goal apiece.

“I don’t know whether we’ve had a run like that all year,” said head coach John Ashby. “That was really good to see.”

Bonita takes a time-out.

Bonita takes a time-out.

Before Bonita went to cruise goal, La Salle scored two first quarter goals, throwing an extra shiver into the Bonita home crowd on a cool afternoon. “Maybe, it was a touch of the jitters,” Ashby added. “But jitters can be good. They let you know there’s something important at stake.”

At stake is Bonita’s quest to get past the quarterfinals round, where its quest for a CIF title has stalled the previous three seasons.

“Today we did a fantastic job,” Ashby noted.

Kevin Webb blasts away.

Kevin Webb blasts away.

Actually, Bonita’s job had started earlier. It had scouted La Salle’s 10-6 victory over Burbank the day before and geared its defense toward shutting down La Salle’s biggest scoring threats.

After scoring those two early goals, La Salle was blanked in the second period and scored just twice after the intermission. By quarters, Bonita led 6-2, 8-2, 10-3 and 11-4.

Keaton Renta rises high in the water.

Keaton Renta rises high in the water. All photos by Suzana Munson.

Bonita won’t the find the waters quite so hospitable in the second round, as it goes on the road to face Palm Desert, which everyone knows is a desert community where pools are only outnumbered by golfers wearing stretch pants and white loafers.

Game Stats

Bonita:

Goals:
Williams 4
Munson 2
Renta 2
Wallman 1
Snow 1
Zachary 1

Assists:
Munson 2
Webb 2
Renta 2
Zachary 2
Williams 1

Steals:
Snow 3
Renta 3
Guarino 3
Williams 1
Gonzalez 1
Landi 1
Zachary 1

Total Bonita shots: 24,  Guarino 7 saves
La Salle Shots: 15 ,Goalie Saves 6.

La Salle goals Kyle Van Der Linde 2, Ricky Deneen 1, Diego Lizarazu 1 .

 

 

Nick Wallman also added a goal for Bonita.

Nick Wallman also added a goal for Bonita.

 

 

Leave a Reply