Laguna Beach boys’ water polo upsets Santa Margarita in Ethan Damato’s return as head coach

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA —  The Laguna Beach High boys’ water polo team lost some key pieces from last year — including its head coach.

A familiar face is back on the bench for the Breakers, though. And Ethan Damato had plenty to be pleased about after his team earned an upset victory Tuesday in a season opener.

Freshman Sai Bennett scored two fourth-quarter goals as Laguna Beach won 8-6 at Santa Margarita.

Damato, who remains the Laguna Beach girls’ coach, took back over the boys’ program after Robert Grayeli resigned following one season. He said he returned to Orange County on Saturday night, after coaching the U.S. youth women’s team to the gold medal at the UANA Youth Pan American Championships last week in Trinidad & Tobago.

Damato, who previously coached the Breakers boys’ program from 2008-2015, said he wanted to keep some continuity in the program. He credited assistant coach Nolan McConnell, a Laguna Beach alumnus who has played on the U.S. men’s national team, for much of the team’s preseason preparation in his absence.

Laguna Beach lost its two top scorers from last year’s team, which finished second in the Surf League and seventh in CIF Southern Section Division 1. Colton Gregory (94 goals) graduated and Logan McCarroll (60 goals), now a sophomore, transferred to Mater Dei. But it was a balanced effort that helped against Santa Margarita.

Sophomore Will Kelly scored the first two goals for the Breakers, who opened up a 4-1 first-half lead. Seniors Toby Bumgardner, James Nolan and Augie Renezeder, as well as junior Michael Pinto, all scored one goal each.

Laguna Beach goalkeeper Caden Capobianco stops a shot in a nonleague match at Santa Margarita on Tuesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Senior goalkeeper Caden Capobianco, who Damato called one of the best high school goalies he’s seen in his coaching career, had 10 saves and three steals, including back-to-back saves late in the third quarter with the score tied. Nolan made a couple of five-on-six field blocks in the first half to help keep the Breakers ahead 4-3 at halftime.

“We want to play better together than everyone else,” Damato said. “I think we’re still very much a work in progress, but we contributions from everyone today. I think that says a lot about this group of guys.

“James has got great length. He’s super-athletic, and he played with so much fire today. I thought he was great defensively. He asked me to guard center at halftime. He wanted to guard [Matty Walsh], which was good, because Augie was in foul trouble at that point. I thought that was a big turning point for us today.”

Santa Margarita took its only lead at 5-4 midway through the third quarter on Cole McKechnie’s second goal. But Renezeder’s backhand goal, assisted by Pinto, tied the score at 5-5 entering the fourth.

Bassett and Santa Margarita’s Wyatt Clark traded goals, before Bassett scored the eventual game-winning goal on an inside drive assisted by Nolan with 2:19 remaining in the match.

After each of Bassett’s fourth-quarter goals, a handful of Laguna Beach girls’ water polo players in attendance started a “He’s a freshman!” chant.

“I just realized that I’m a freshman,” he said. “There’s nothing to lose. No one really has big expectations for me, so I just had to go out there and play ... I felt it. I just felt the moment.”

Pinto added an insurance goal on the six-on-five with 1:08 to go.

Laguna Beach returns to action Thursday, when the Breakers play at Capistrano Valley.

“I’m really proud of my guys today, and how they competed, but it’s one win,” Damato said. “It’s nice to be 1-0, but that’s all it is for right now. Our goal is to keep getting better. We’re going to take it one day at a time as a team.”

Laguna Beach’s William Kelly takes a long shot and scores in the corner of the net against Santa Margarita’s Wyatt Clark during a nonleague match on Tuesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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