South Florida Water Polo Club Delivers Stunning Finish at The Antiwave Summer Championships

A huge congratulations to our 18u team for a huge victory at the first ever KAP7 Antiwave Summer Championships hosted by North Irvine Water Polo Club.

Signed up to compete in the 18u platinum division of the newly minted summer tournament, our 18u team was the only non-California squad to test the waters in the senior-most divisions of the tournament. With a small squad, our competitive boys delivered four huge wins to bring the first-ever Antiwave 18u platinum division gold medal to Florida.

On July 12th the team hopped into the famed waters of Woollett Aquatic Center in Irvine for two games, starting with a big victory over Los Angeles based water polo club, Route 66, by a score of 8-7. A testy start saw the Californians take a two-goal lead deep into the first quarter, however, after a penalty that was drawn by David Ranaudo it was blasted home on a quick skip shot by Sam Eastaugh our boys took a one goal deficit into the start of the second quarter. The second quarter started well for us after a penalty conversion from Amos Neeman, on a powerful skip shot. Route 66 would rebuild their one goal lead after another goal; however, our boys responded quickly with Lev Konnikov drawing an exclusion finishing a big turn on the post, it was a well worked 6-on-5 that would find a cross pass from Amos Neeman that would find the hand of Sam Eastaugh who buried a beautiful crosscage skip shot to tie the game again. Our boys finally took the lead in the game with about two minutes left in the first half when Max Possin patiently surveyed the field of play to find the hot hand of Sam Eastaugh who stepped out beautifully on a backdoor from a post-up, after catch he waited the goalie out who had jumped crosscage hard only to watch Sam’s lob beautifully find the back of the net giving him a first half hat-trick and to our South Florida squad a 4-3 lead in the match. Route 66 was able to grab another goal before the end of the half and headed into half time the score was tied 4-4. The third quarter proved to be the turning point in the match, a perimeter exclusion that had turned into a red card delivered our squad a penalty shot and four-minute exclusion against a Route 66 player after kicking David Ranaudo underwater would provide out 18u boys with four minutes of 6-on-5 and ample opportunities to convert and build a lead. Goals came from Max Possin, who converted the penalty after the call as well as from Sam Eastaugh for his fourth of the game, Amos Neeman for his second of the game, with the four minutes of advantage our boys had built a 7-4 lead, however, in the dying moments of the third quarter Route 66 was able to notch another goal to cut the lead to 7-5. Taking a 7-5 lead into the fourth quarter, our boys proved resilient with our great zone defenses and backed by our National Team goalkeeper, Marcell Varhalmi, although the local club was able to convert two more goals, a huge goal from the center position provided by Lev Konnikov in the fourth quarter proved to be the ultimate difference as our boys secured a great 8-7 victory.

Our second game of the day would be another bracket game, against another local historic powerhouse Saddleback El Toro or SET Aquatics. And it would be the locals who would strike first with two goals, a 6-on-5 post dunk and a strong finish out of the center position nearly halfway through the third quarter. However, our boys responded quickly with an exclusion drawn by David Ranaudo, led to a patient and well worked 6-on-5 that found the hand of Sam Eastaugh in the pocket who attacked forward and placed a good pass on the hand of Lev Konnikov who converted the strong dunk. The locals would convert another extra man situation that would build SET’s lead 1-3, however, on our boys responded with their own counterattack drawn exclusion and after a rebound was recovered and passed around it would again be Sam Eastaugh who would find Lev Konnikov, this time converting a shot from the perimeter of the 6-on-5 situation meaning that it would be SET that would take the one goal lead into the second quarter. The pairing of Sam Eastaugh and Lev Konnikov would prove crucial again, as off the start of the second quarter it would once again be Sam who would find Lev streaking down the middle of the pool for another conversion, giving Lev a first half hat-trick as well as Sam a first half hat-trick of assists. Later in the quarter our fastbreak proved lethal, as Amos Neeman, was able to get loose on the left side of the pool and draw the exclusion, a quick passing sequence with Max Possin would provide our 18u boys a 4-3 score and a lead that they would not relinquish the rest of the game. In the final minute of the second quarter, an entry pass from Juan Lopez would find Sam Eastaugh posting up in a deep position, separating and elevating on his legs he would force SET’s goalkeeper vertical before tucking away a pretty lob shot crosscage, however, our 5-3 lead was short lived as a SET perimeter shooter would convert a skip shot in the dying seconds of the first half, taking our boys into the half with a one goal lead. The third quarter started off slow for both teams, however, once our boys drew a 6-on-5, their patience proved to be fatal for the opposition, purposeful fakes, post players moving accordingly and crisp passing would find Lev Konnikov available again in a dangerous position where from there he converted a lovely crosscage skip shot to give our boys a 6-4 lead. The second half belonged to our goalkeeper, Marcell Varhalmi, after allowing only four goals in the first half, as always, he stepped up even more and clamped down on the goal, allowing only two goals the rest of the way, including several stunning saves, especially a third quarter one against goalie situation that he pummeled back into the field of play. Our next goal came again on the fastbreak, Max Possin, stole the ball before taking the ball coast-to-coast and converting a beautiful crosscage shot to open up the lead even more. A goal converted by SET after an exclusion would mean that our South Florida boys would take a 7-5 lead into the fourth quarter where they would truly shut the game down, though SET would strike first in the fourth, Lev Konnikov would respond almost immediately after quick entry pass into center from Sam Eastaugh, Lev would turn his defender and put up a lovely lob over the goalie and the crashing second defender to rebuild our two goal lead. And with about 2 minutes left in the fourth, it would be Sam Eastaugh who would lead to the so-called nail in the coffin, after a stunning strongside turn that led to a penalty call, it would be Amos Neeman who would convert the penalty to create a 9-6 lead. After a timeout call, SET attempted to go 7-on-6 by bringing their goalkeeper up into the attack, however, a staunch defense and two full-court goals from Lev Konnikov and goalkeeper Marcell Varhalmi would provide the game with the final score of 11-6 and give our South Florida squad a match against Rose Bowl Water Polo Club the following morning that would decide who would play in the gold medal match.

The first ever winners of the KAP7 Antiwave Summer Championships 18u Platinum Division.

The following day began with an 8 am game against the well-known club, Rose Bowl Water Polo Club, however, our boys hellbent on proving themselves on the California stage before JOs came up with another huge victory on the back of our superstar goalkeeper, Marcell Varhalmi, who amassed numerous saves, including two crucial penalty shot stops in quick succession in the end of the third quarter. However, it was our own Sam Eastaugh who began to procession, about two and a half minutes into the game, he received a live entry on the post from Lev Konnikov and maneuvering through traffic converted a stunning crosscage lob to finally start a game for our boys in the lead. The following possession resulted in a stop for our boys who then found Amos Neeman streaking down the pool on the right side, he was able to draw a penalty shot which Sam Eastaugh stepped up and converted by slotting a way a lovely low skip shot to grant our boys a 2-0 lead. The very following possession it would be Amos Neeman who would strike, while bringing the ball up into the offense he noticed that the Rose Bowl goalkeeper was positioned incorrectly and fired a lovely nearside skip low that found its way into the back of the net, quickly giving our boys a 3-0 lead halfway through the first quarter. The second half of the quarter proved fruitful for the local club as Rose Bowl would convert on a penalty and an extra man to ensure that the first quarter would only end with our boys in the lead 3-2. The third quarter would start with Rose Bowl striking first to tie the game, however, a strong post up from Lev Konnikov who was found by a great pass from Matthew Orsini would deliver another goal that would once again build the lead for the South Florida squad, 4-3. The second quarter would continue being a back and forth affair, after Rose Bowl would once again fire in another tying goal, a double exclusion situation between Juan Lopez and a Rose Bowl player would give Juan his third exclusion of the game and render our South Florida squad with no substitutions the rest of the game, however, our boys didn’t even blink in the face of adversity. With 18 second left in the half, Lev Konnikov would step into open space with fakes and drill a shot just over the goalkeeper’s shoulder to rebuild the South Florida lead to 5-4. At the start of the second half, it would be Rose Bowl to strike first as they once again tied the game on a backdoor drive that broke through our defense, however, almost immediately Lev Konnikov would find the back of the net on an eight meter skip shot after seeing the goalkeeper out of position to re-establish the one goal lead after just 14 seconds. And later in the quarter it would be Amos Neeman who would fire in a crosscage top corner beauty from a foul that would double the lead and bring the score to 7-5 in favor of our South Florida boys. In the last seconds of the quarter, it would be Marcell Varhalmi that would come up titanic in a crucial moment, after stuffing one penalty shot back into the field of play, a scramble for the ball that saw a lapse in concentration from our boys led to another penalty shot, however, undeterred and ever confident, Marcell stunned everyone by forcing the second Rose Bowl shooter into missing his shot. The wild sequence of events would only culminate in the dagger moment of the game as with the last seconds of the third quarter Sam Eastaugh’s shot would be knocked down by a field blocker right at the front of the goal into the hand of David Ranaudo who delivered a last-second backhand into the Rose Bowl net to once again reclaim the three goal lead that had eluded our boys since the middle of the first quarter and make sure we head into the final stanza with a 8-5 lead. To start the fourth quarter, Rose Bowl would convert a penalty shot after catching one of our defenders on a backdoor drive to draw the penalty, however, our boys remained unfazed, a great combination play between Max Possin and Amos Neeman would lead to penalty being drawn for our Florida-based squad that would be quickly converted by Sam Eastaugh who would complete his hat-trick with the quick skip shot on the penalty. The sealing goal would come from Amos Neeman, who would leak out on the fastbreak, a great pass from Marcell Varhalmi in the goal would leave Amos to work 1-on-1 against his defender who he would get inside water against and with the goalkeeper rushing out, he would place a nifty lob just over him to give our boys a four-goal advantage, 10-6. A consolation goal for Rose Bowl would come with 1:53 left in the game after Max Possin had attempted to defend a backdoor pass to a driver behind him and had inadvertently knocked the ball in our net as Marcell Varhalmi had jumped out to try and steal the pass as well. The 10-7 victory comes on the back of a monster game in between the pipes from Marcell Varhalmi, with 12 saves and several timely interventions against Rose Bowl fastbreak attempts, he gave us the wall in the back that put so much pressure on Rose Bowl to score and gave us the cushion to play comfortably while in front for majority of the game. With the victory over Rose Bowl and a perfect 3-0 bracket stage record, our boys cemented themselves the 2 PM gold medal match against another local club, Supreme Water Polo Club.

The afternoon showdown gold medal showdown started with both teams unable to score in the first few minutes due to staunch defenses, however, it would be Supreme that struck first by converting a penalty shot to break the deadlock. However, a gorgeous top corner shot from Amos Neeman the following possession after working to break Supreme’s zone defense with Sam Eastaugh and Juan Lopez, would tie the game up. And with 16 seconds left in the first quarter it would be Juan Lopez to convert a beautiful nearside shot off the catch from a cross pass from Max Possin, the two goals would give our South Florida boys a 2-1 lead going into the second quarter. The second quarter started similar to the first, the first goal only coming about halfway through the quarter, with our boys attacking on the fastbreak, an outlet pass to Sam Eastaugh had given the opportunity for Lev Konnikov to get deep position on a quick post up, a smart and swift entry pass from Sam would leave Lev available to step on his legs and fire a point blank shot into the net to double the lead to a 3-1 scoreline. The next following possession it would be Amos Neeman to ring the bell once again, with a stunning nearside skip shot from about eight meters and wide of the right post that would make the score 4-1. However, almost immediately a strong backdoor move from Supreme’s center would bring the score back to 4-2 for our South Florida 18u squad, though as if trading punches like heavyweight boxers, out 18u boys replied almost instantly, taking their time attacking and probing the opposition zone defense, it would be Sam Eastaugh to light the fuse, firing a beautiful shot right over the goalkeeper’s head with a beautiful doughnut shot to once again create a three goal lead at 5-2. A man-up conversion for the Californian opposition would once again cut the lead to a two-goal lead, however, the patient attack of our South Florida boys proved important in the first half as a again probing the opposition zone, Sam Eastaugh would find Lev Konnikov, who received a cross pass and blasted home another goal to make the lead 6-3. However, it would be Supreme who had the last word of the half as they converted a crosscage skip shot that slipped just under the arm of our goalkeeper, that 6-4 halftime lead would not survive long going into the third quarter, two quickfire goals from Supreme would once again tie the game at the beginning of the third at 6-6, however, Amos Neeman came up huge to stop the bleeding, firing home his signature nearside skip to seal his hat-trick and once again bring South Florida to the advantage with a 7-6 scoreline. However, that lead would be short lived as Supreme would tie the score again the very next possession. The 7-7 scoreline would last all the way to the dying seconds of the third quarter, it was Matthew Orsini that would ring the bell with three seconds left in the quarter, probing the zone with Juan Lopez, passing the ball back and forth and faking big, Matt buried a stunning nearside shot that once again gave our South Florida team the lead at 8-7 going into the final stanza. Immediately at the beginning of the fourth quarter it would be Lev Konnikov who would ring the bell, with Supreme collapsing immediately into an M-Drop, Lev stepped forward with big fakes and blasted home a stunning shot into the top left of the goal to give the South Florida squad a two-goal cushion and secure him the hat-trick. However, the California-based water polo club soon responded with a 6-on-5 conversion that would bring the score to 9-8, and another goal from Supreme’s right hand side of the pool would tie the game at 9-9, however, a huge penalty stop from our goalkeeper, Marcell Varhalmi, would force the Supreme shooter to smash the ball against the post, a foreshadowing of later events in the penalty shootout to come. With about two minutes left in the quarter, an extra man was drawn by David Ranaudo would lead to a timeout call; after catching our breath it was a patient 6-on-5 that saw the opposing defense not be very active and Lev Konnikov would capitalize, firing a shot into the top left, his fourth of the game and give our team a one goal lead. However, the lead would not last, Supreme would find the back of the net one more time in regulation and with the score tied 10-10 it left us with a penalty shootout to decide the game. The hero of the penalty shootout was none other than our National Team acclaimed goalkeeper Marcell Varhalmi, as he erased all the shots that Supreme shot in the shootout. After Juan Lopez, scored the first penalty emphatically, it was Marcell who made the shooter smash the ball off the post, Matthew Orsini stepped up next and buried his penalty beautifully giving us the 2:0 lead in penalties. The second penalty from Supreme was also stuffed by Marcell’s massive right hand. After our third shooter had missed, Marcell showed true courage and bravery as the Supreme shooter aimed right down the middle to shoot over his head, but fearless Marcell used his head to smash the ball back out into the field of play ensuring that the next penalty converted by Max Possin would secure the win with a 3:0 penalty shootout victory after regulation.

With the stunning victory at the first ever KAP7 Antiwave Summer Championship for the 18u Platinum Division, our 18u boys proved themselves steely and ready to compete with a lot of excitement at next week’s USA Water Polo Junior Olympics.

To see the team’s full games, check out the team’s YouTube channel.