By Pete Borello
Call them young. Call them inexperienced. Just don’t call the Eagles quitters.
It took only one game for the Los Altos High boys water polo team to show it won’t go down easily, no matter who is — or isn’t — in the pool.
A day after learning their team captain was leaving — the second all-league player to transfer out prior to this season — the Eagles almost beat Central Coast Section powerhouse St. Francis. Los Altos took the visiting Lancers to sudden-death overtime before falling 11-10.
“It was a really good sign,” said Jon Wiener, the Eagles’ new head coach.
The signs were ominous at the start of the game. Los Altos, obviously reeling from the loss of captain Kyle Healy, fell behind 5-1 after the first quarter.
That’s when Wiener offered his players a choice
“You can start playing well,” he told them, “or you can throw in the towel.”
The Eagles chose the former, rallying to pull within 7-5 at intermission, then outscoring St. Francis 4-2 in the second half to force overtime.
If Los Altos had the team it envisioned before the summer exodus, the final result may have been different. Wiener admitted that losing 2-meter player Healy (moving to Southern California) and goalkeeper Jimmie Sandman (transferred to Menlo School) has been hard on him and the team.
Yet the Eagles proved against St. Francis that they aren’t about to surrender the season, Thus far, they are heeding their coach’s advice.
“You can’t worry about who’s not in the water,” Wiener recalled telling them. “You’re the team and whatever happens the rest of the season is up to you. There’s no help on the way.”
The Eagles have suddenly become one of the youngest and least experienced teams in the challenging SCVAL De Anza Division. They return just three players from last season, none of whom started full time a year ago.
The only senior on the 15-man roster is Duje Kaurloto, an exchange student from Croatia who arrived over the summer.
Don’t feel too sorry for Los Altos, however, because the team isn’t without talent.
Sophomore Tyler Smith played on the United States National Cadet Team during the summer; junior Ross Stanley was a member of this prestigious 15-and-under team the previous year. Both field players started a handful of games for Los Altos in 2002, helping the Eagles reach the CCS semifinals for the sixth year in a row.
The 6-foot-5 Smith has the tall task of replacing the bulkier Healy at the 2-meter position.
“There’s more pressure on him now,” Wiener said of Smith. “He’s going to take more punishment at 2-meter and we’re going to rely on his scoring more.”
So far, so good: Smith had a game-high five goals against St. Francis. Stanley and Mike Orton, the team’s other returner, scored two each and Kaurloto accounted for the other goal.
Junior Orton is hosting Kaurloto while he’s in America and Wiener expects both players to play prominent roles this season — especially on defense. The other field players the coach is counting on include Sam Elchert, Connor McColl and Zachary Zwarenstein, all juniors.
Wiener hasn’t settled on a goalie yet and doesn’t expect to make the decision on Sandman’s replacement for another week or two. The candidates are junior Nick Westrum and sophomore Mike Peterson, both new to the position. Westrum started against St. Francis and Peterson took over in the second half, providing what Wiener described as “a big boost” with some nice blocks.
Although questions remain, Wiener — a former Los Altos water polo player himself — is confident his team can compete with Gunn for the De Anza Division title and get back to the CCS semifinals.
“The goals haven’t changed,” he said. “It won’t be easy, but I think we’ll get better as the season goes. These guys are a tough group of kids.”
Los Altos takes part in the Menlo Tournament on Friday and Saturday.
