Dylan Fogg scored six goals, including a pair of penalty shots, to help lead the Santa Barbara High water polo team to a 12-9 victory over Tuesday over Dos Pueblos.
“Just a good team effort,” Fogg said after the match. “Everyone played together. We all focused on defense and it led to our offense and at the end of the day we got it done when we needed to get it done.”
While Fogg was able to provide the scoring punch, it was the Dons defense that helped secure the victory. Santa Barbara (10-4, 2-0 in Channel League) was able to limit DPs Ethan Parrish to just one goal and kept junior Sammy Arshadi in check for most of the match.
“He just puts so much pressure on your whole team and he might have only scored one goal but he contributed… he probably had a hand in eight or nine of them by us having to send an extra guy,” Dons coach Mark Walsh said of Parrish. “Although he only scored one, which was a great team effort to do that, he contributed to a lot of their goals.
“They’re just incredibly talented offensively,” he added. “We don’t have anyone who can just guard them one on one, so we’ve got bring that second person in and hope that they miss that shot and luckily we have a good goalie who was on today and he made a lot of really nice saves.”
Hunter Brownwell was able to keep the Chargers off the board, making several key saves in the win.
“They’re going to score whether you like it or not,” Brownwell said. “I was a little nervous coming into the game because I knew they were a good team and they’re getting better throughout the season. I was a little worried how this game would go.”
Nat Sweeney opened the scoring for the Dons in the early going, finding the back of the net less than 40 seconds into the first quarter. Fogg scored on a penalty shot with 2:04 left in the first, and Ryan Drake added another goal with 1:26 left in the opening quarter to give Santa Barbara a 3-0 advantage.
Dos Pueblos (10-11, 1-1) got on the board with 6:21 left in the second quarter following a goal by Alex Reilly. Fogg would add another goal just minutes later before Parrish scored with 1:53 left in the second to make it 4-2 after two quarters.
Fogg added three more goals in the third. A Dons shot hit the post and Fogg recovered the loose ball to score just 30 seconds into the period. Rex Goodner scored a pair of goals, including one with several Dons draped on his back to bring the Chargers within one with 4:47 left in the third. Arshadi’s goal with 4:05 left in the third tied the match at 5.
Chase Raisin scored on a lob shot with 2:39 left, but Arshadi would answer that with a no-look goal in front of the net to tie the match at 6 with 2:32 left in the third.
With 2:07 left in the third, Fogg added his second penalty shot to put the Dons ahead.
“I just put my head under water and just look at one corner,” Fogg said. “Every time I come back up and I look…. I hesitate and I’ll miss. From now on, I just put my head down, pick that one corner and just throw the ball as hard as I can in that corner.”
The teams would exchange goals, as both Raisin and Reilly scored for their respective teams before Fogg scored with five seconds left in the third to give the Dons a 9-7 lead.
Arshadi notched another goal on a penalty shot to make it 9-8 with 6:21 in the match, however that was as close as the Chargers would get.
The Dons called a timeout in front 9-8 with a one player advantage with 5:10 to go in the match. Fogg said his coach was preaching defense, however it was another stellar offensive play by the senior that helped his team secure the win.
Bronson Blix had the ball out front of the net, read the defense and found Fogg on the weak side and Fogg did the rest.
“He’s got such a great catch and shoot and he’s got a live arm, so I like having him over there on the weak side where he can rip that one and he came through with a great shot,” Walsh said.
The two teams would exchange scores over the next several minutes, with Blix finding the back of the net before Goodner scored with 2:56 left. Raisin added another goal with 2:37 to go in the game to round out the scoring.
Jordan Hayes, who drew the ejection to get the Dons into a power play for Fogg’s goal, fouled out with just under three minutes to go. The Dons were able to lock in defensively and shut down the DP power play before running out the clock.
With the victory, the Dons put themselves in position to win the Channel League title if they are able to close the season strong.
“It means a lot for us,” Fogg said. “We lost to them last year and it was tough but this year it feels good, being in my senior year. I’m very happy and pleased with the team and the effort everyone put in today.”
DP coach Bryan Snyder said his team got away from its offensive attack that has worked well over the past several weeks.
“Anytime Ethan (Parrish) doesn’t score four or five goals it’s a surprise,” Snyder said. “He didn’t have a great day shooting and those things happen in water polo… he still made a lot of great plays, drew some ejections and drew some penalty shots for us, so it’s not his best game scoring but he did a lot of other great things.
“We got very close in the fourth… we got the momentum swing and they got a couple of quick goals and kind of killed our momentum and we missed a couple of shots that go in for us a decent amount on the offensive end and that’s kind of the difference in the game. They were able to secure the ball and run the clock out.”
