Merced rolls again, stands one win from section title repeat
Almost like flipping a switch, the Merced High boys water polo team shifted into another gear in the second quarter against Lodi on Wednesday night. The Bears were relentless with their pressure on defense and did whatever they wanted out the offensive end. Merced quickly turned a competitive one-goal game into a 14-5 lead at the half by outscoring the Flames 9 to 1 in the second quarter.
The top-seeded Bears dispatched of the No. 4 Flames 22-8 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinals to advance to Saturday’s championship game against No. 2 Granite Bay at 1 p.m. at the Natomas Aquatic Center. Merced will be going for back-to-back section titles.
“If you want to be honest, I think this 's what was expected,” said Merced coach Eric Larson.”These kids have had these expectations since they were 10 and 11 years old, now they're just proving everybody right, and we're here again. We’re going to show up again.”
The Bears have been a runaway freight train since the start of the season. Merced has averaged 15 goals per game and has beaten teams by an average of nine goals per game. Wednesday’s victory was the 28th consecutive win to improve to 30-1 on the season. It’s no surprise Merced has been ranked No. 1 overall in the Sac-Joaquin Section by MaxPreps.
“At the end of the day, we worry about getting better every single day,” Larson said. “I challenge them every day to work hard, make good passes, and be great teammates. And I think that's what's the biggest thing is they are great teammates.”
Merced’s ability to share the ball made it a long night for the Lodi defense. The Bears racked up 19 assists on the 22 goals. Kade Slocum led the way with 10 goals for Merced and Cord McCall added five goals, five assists and six steals.
The Bears put their foot on the gas in the second quarter as Slocum scored five goals in the quarter to help Merced open up a nine-goal lead at the half. “Our coach was really positive with us, even though we weren't playing our absolute best,” Slocum said. “We weren’t playing our best defense. We changed up the defense from a drop to a press, and I think that just led us to getting more counter attacks. We were more aggressive on the top of the defense and we were able to just shut them down.”
and being able to just shut them down.”
Next up for the Bears is a showdown with Granite Bay in the championship game on Saturday. Slocum says working together has paved the way for the Bears to return to the section finals again.
“I really think it's a lot of teamwork,” Slocum said. “I love all these guys. We have amazing chemistry. I cannot wait to play in the finals. We can't overlook anybody, but I'm really confident that we're going to come out and dominate.”
Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.