Just like the three previous meetings between the Loyola Marymount University and UCSD men’s water polo teams, one point separated the winner from the loser. But this time, the stakes were raised, as one point separated the Western Water Polo Association champion from the runner-up.
The game was tied, and the Tritons had the ball with only a couple of minutes left to play. The shot clock was winding down as junior driver Nestor Dordoni held the ball around the eight-meter mark. His defender dropped back, opening up a lane to shoot, and Dordoni didn’t hesitate.
“”I have been more confident with my shot [as] of late,”” Dordoni said. “”We have so many weapons on the team that they don’t really concentrate on me. They dropped off me, so I just shot it.””
Dordoni sent a blast straight to the corner. The ball hit two bars and still had enough power to go into the net. The crowd went wild, and Dordoni pointed to his father in the crowd.
“”I could kind of tell,”” senior utility Jesse Casellini said. “”In the back of my mind, I thought [Dordoni] might shoot this. He just snapped his wrist, and it went in.””
With the 10-9 win, UCSD captured its 14th WWPA title, ending the Lions’ three-year reign as league champs. The team also set the school mark for wins in a season with 25 – beating last year’s mark of 24 with the NCAA Final Four still left to play on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3.
“”It’s a great team to do it,”” Randall said, referring to the 25 wins. “”Everyone knows their roles and everyone does their roles perfectly.””
All year long, the Tritons played in close games, learning how to win late. They had 11 games decided by a single goal, losing only two, with one of them to the undefeated No. 1 USC team.
“”We all wait for these defining moments – who’s going to come through as heroes and who will crack under the pressure,”” UCSD head coach Denny Harper said. “”This team has come through all year.””
On Nov. 17 and Nov. 18, UCSD easily defeated UC Santa Cruz, 13-9, and Santa Clara University, 13-8, to set up the fourth and final meeting between the top two teams in the WWPA on Nov. 19 in front of a packed house at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges.
The Tritons came out strong and took a 3-1 lead early in the first half. It was followed by a 4-0 run by the Lions to put them up by two goals, 5-3. UCSD got back to playing better defense and was able to tie by the end of the half.
“”There was no quit in those guys and they pushed us possibly beyond where we thought we had to go,”” Harper said.
With only three and a half minutes left in the game, the Tritons took a 9-6 lead, despite failing to score in six chances with a man advantage.
“”We’ve done this before where we have a lead on them and it’s almost like we get comfortable with it mentally,”” senior goalkeeper Jeremy Randall said. “”You’ve got to give credit to LMU; they didn’t want to give up, they didn’t roll over.””
The Lions fought back to tie the game at nine apiece, setting up the eventual game-winning shot by Dordoni.
“”We ran multiple set plays successfully, but in this particular case, something told me they needed to just go down and play,”” Harper said. “”In hindsight, I was right. It was an awesome shot that [Dordoni] had.””
Loyola Marymount didn’t get a chance to tie the game again as UCSD stole the ball and junior utility A.J. Kotanjian drew an ejection. The Tritons were then able to run out the clock for the victory.
At the end of the tournament, Casellini was named WWPA Most Valuable Player, while also being named to the WWPA First Team along with teammate senior two-meter offense Ty Lackey.
Kotanjian made the all-WWPA Second Team and junior driver Adnan Jerkovic received an honorable mention.
“”I was surprised that I won the award and [Lackey] didn’t,”” Casellini said. “”Honestly, I didn’t even think I was going to be on the First Team, but I really appreciate it.””
Their goal of winning the WWPA has been accomplished, and all that’s left for the fifth-ranked Tritons is the national championship.
“”We’re going to probably be playing better because we’re relaxed,”” Randall said. “”The pressure is off of us and it’s on everyone else. We’re not expected to win.””
This team has exceeded expectations throughout the season and has proved that it is one of the best teams in the country. With the team’s confidence at its highest, UCSD has the opportunity to make some big noise in the upcoming tournament.
“”Everyone on our team knows we can play against anyone,”” Casellini said. “”It’s almost better that we’re underdogs. We have nothing to lose.””
Loyola Marymount will host the NCAA Final Four on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3.
