Sacred Heart Prep boys' water polo team to play for 11th straight CCS crown

The Gators put on a water polo clinic in the first half, offensively and defensively, building a 10-2 lead at halftime on their way to a 15-6 win over the Lancers.

SHP played at such a level, head coach Brian Kreutzkamp wonders if his team might have peaked too soon.

“Every shot, we were hitting bar-ins, hitting corners. We were clicking everywhere in the pool,” Kreutzkamp said. “So I’m paranoid now. Was that our best effort? We’ll need that for Saturday.”

SHP (21-7) will face another West Catholic League rival in the championship game when the Gators take on No. 2 Bellarmine (21-8) at Hollister High School Saturday at a time to be determined. The Open Division have been contested for only five seasons and SHP has won all five, sharing the 2018 title with Bellarmine in a game that wasn’t actually played because of poor air qualify caused by wildfires.

On top of that, the Gators will play for their 11th straight CCS championship.

The Gators set the tone real quick against St. Francis (18-11) Tuesday with a goal in the first 28 seconds. After Will Swart won the opening sprint for SHP, the Gators quickly went to Jake Tsotadze in the set, who drew a power-play advantage. On a quick restart, Tsotadze threw the ball to Hassan Hove on the wing, who went right back to Tsotadze, who drew a 5-meter penalty shot.

Swart converted and the Gators were up 1-0.

It was the first of eight goals in the game for the Princeton-bound Swart, who proved to be adept on the drive and firing from distance.

Basically, he got whatever he wanted.

“He’s been a starter on varsity for four years. This is his moment,” Kreutzkamp said.

Swart notched four goals in the first period alone and added two more in the second. He returned to the pool midway through the third period and scored two more before Kreutzkamp shut him down for the rest of the match.

Hove scored a hat trick for the Gators, while Tsotadze finished with a team-high three assists.

Swart scored four of the first five Gators’ goals in the opening five minutes, with Luke Bachler’s strike wedged between, as SHP opened up a quick 5-0 lead.

“That’s part of the plan,” Kreutzkamp said. “Put them on their back (foot) early.

“But my guys came to play tonight.”

While the SHP offense was scoring on 6-of-7 shots in the first period, the Gators’ defense was completely stifling the St. Francis attack. The Lancers managed only two shots on goal, with Alexander Sharp scoring the only goal of the period on Lancers’ first shot of the match with 35 seconds left in quarter as they trailed 6-1 after seven minutes.

The second period was a repeat of the first: SHP scoring on 5-of-7 shots, holding St. Francis to one goal on just three shots and held a comfortable 10-2 lead at halftime.

For the match, SHP connected on 16-of-23 shots, a cool 70% shooting.

Kreutzkamp inserted the second team in the second quarter and they also started the second half. While the Gators’ offensive production dipped, the defense remained on point — which is what Kreutzkamp wants from his second- and third-string players.

“I don’t need them to score any more goals,” Kreutzkamp. “We just want to hang with [the opposing team].”

St. Francis scored its quarterly goal early in the third, with Zach Ramens slamming home a goal in front on a fast break.

Midway through the period, however, Kreutzkamp inserted his starters for one final push and the offense picked up. Swart rounded out his scoring for the night with two more goals — including his seventh on which he took a long outlet pass from goalkeeper Orlando Hernandez Alvarado, drove on goal and unleashed a shot that caused the net to audibly snap.

“He comes out (of the water) so high, up to his (swim) suit, and he throws the ball so hard,” Kreutzkamp said.

Hove completed his hat trick in the third and, with the Gators leading 13-3 after the three periods, it was time for the rest of the SHP bench to get some time in the pool.

They responded, with Pierce Gurtner and Kip Nilsson scoring.

“[The reserves] get their butt kicks all the time in practice,” Kreutzkamp said. “They deserve to get some time in the spotlight.”