After delivering the first league championship in program history, the Santa Ana High boys water polo season ended on Tuesday, November 12 with a loss against Cate in the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 semifinals.
The Saints (27-4) came up short, 16-6, in the semis on the road, but are thrilled about the season overall and head coach Maer Cruz is proud of how far the team has come.
“I know the outcome that we had against Cate in the semifinals was not what we wanted, but I know my boys gave it everything they had and we should be very proud of what they have accomplished,” he said.
Cate (13-5) went on to fall just short in the championship round, as South Pasadena (18-11) took the title, 10-9.
Santa Ana played against Murrieta Mesa (19-12) in the quarterfinal on November 6, defeating the Rams 18-15. In the first quarter the Saints went up 6-2. In the span of three minutes the boys were able to score five goals, putting them ahead early.
During the second quarter they were able to score four more goals, but so did the Rams, keeping the pace.
In the final quarter the Rams scored seven goals while the saints scored only four, closing the gap but not quite enough.
On October 31, the Saints played Buena Park (15-17) in the second round. Both teams started with a five-goal first quarter and Santa Ana pulled it out, 15-14, as they were neck and neck with the Coyotes throughout.
The team battled it out all season with the players never giving up, leading to advancing through the playoffs after being eliminated in the first round last season.
Junior Shaun Gonzales said, “No matter what diversity or adversity we face we keep on moving forward. I’m proud of my team and coach.”
On October 29, the team opened up its playoff run against Citrus Valley (Redlands) with a 9-6 victory.
They started out with a bang, scoring five goals while Citrus Valley (14-13) had yet to score any. Senior Isiah Simmons scored two out of the five, helping the team get ahead in the first quarter. The Saints maintained the lead throughout the entire game, not once trailing Citrus Valley. The Saints defense was on point throughout the first quarter. Goalkeeper Paul Gonzalez had a good performance, blocking most of the shots from the Blackhawks.
“I’m very very happy, the kids put in a lot of hard work,” Cruz said. “The fact that we don’t have kids that play club and we are division four and got a win is pretty amazing.”
Captain Matthew Macedo said, “Our team has been working very hard, last year we lost the first round of CIF and to win this year shows how much we’ve grown as a team. It feels really good.”
Despite the fact that their season has finished, they have succeeded and made Santa Ana High School tremendously proud.
Apart from advancing to semifinals of CIF, they won The Golden West League for the first time in program history. The saints finished their league season with a 6-0 record. They won against Tustin High School in the finale to earn the title.
The entire team contributed to this win and title. The standouts of the league season were Yediel Cecilio and Isaiah Simmons, both seniors. Cecilio ended the league season with 117 goals while Simmons ended with 110.
Coach Maer, a Santa Ana High Alum, said, “It was a long journey, but on the way these kids improved everyday and every game. I’m glad my kids got the recognition they deserve, they earned that recognition.”
He also said, “We were able to accomplish so many things. The kids should be proud. I know I’m proud and super excited to go on this journey with them and enjoy it.”
“I’m sad, I’m done, it was my last game,” Cecilio said. “You can tell we put in the work, I’m proud of them all, they’re all way better than before, they’re good, I’m excited to see the rest play later on.”
The boys water polo team truly made history and will forever leave a mark on Santa Ana High School.
