BY MARK E. STRODER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
HEMET Good shots were plentiful for Temescal Canyon on Saturday. Getting the ball into the net was a different story. Despite dominating both ends of the pool, the visiting Titans found themselves down a goal to Hemet late in the third quarter of their CIF-SS Division 6 boys water polo quarterfinal. But freshman attacker Cooper Smith’s consecutive goals helped Temescal Canyon rally for a 4-3 victory. The third-seeded Titans (18-12) will play second-seeded Santa Ana Segerstrom (24-3) Wednesday in a semifinal at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut. “We did a good job of creating some good opportunities and some good looks, and they just didn’t go in,” said Temescal Canyon coach Damien Andrews. “Thankfully, we were able to come out on top, despite our abysmal shooting.” Temescal Canyon players hit a portion of the goal post on eight shots. Ten other opportunities were turned away by Bulldogs goalie Tanner Silves. Fifth-seeded Hemet (17-12) took its only lead, 2-1, on a goal by Dakota Snow with one minute, 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter. But the Titans, who went scoreless for a 19-minute stretch, answered quickly with a goal by Logan Gallagher. Smith followed with a goal from 3 meters out, giving Temescal Canyon a 3-2 lead with 15 seconds remaining in the third. Two minutes into the fourth quarter, Smith scored from 2 meters out, extending the lead to 4-2. “I passed it to the weak side, and my defender left me, so I scooted in to improve my angle,” Smith said. “I called for the ball and put it into the cage.” Zach Eggering made it 4-3 midway through the fourth, but Hemet’s scoring chances were few and far between. “I thought we talked a lot, and everybody was playing really good defense today,” said Kyle Rasmussen, a 6-foot-8 center/defender, who also plays basketball for the Titans. “It was frustrating that we didn’t have a bigger lead.” Temescal Canyon ran out the final 40 seconds after Snow was excluded after committing a foul on Gallagher. “The referee must have thought that I lunged out at him to go for the block, and it got me called out,” said Snow, a junior. “The game can’t be called by the referees. We’ve got to win the game by playing it.” CONTACT THE WRITER: [email protected]