The Buena Park High boys water polo team had a slow start to fall behind Sonora, 6-0, and it proved to be enough as the Coyotes fell to the Raiders, 16-12, in an Empire League match last week at Buena Park High. The Coyotes struggled on offense to start the match and trailed 4-0 at the end of the first quarter. It wasn’t until the 5:37 mark of the second quarter that the Coyote offense broke through with a goal by Macklin Magdaleno to cut the deficit to 6-1. Magdaleno finished the night with a team-high five goals.
The Buena Park High boys water polo team had a slow start to fall behind Sonora, 6-0, and it proved to be enough as the Coyotes fell to the Raiders, 16-12, in an Empire League match last week at Buena Park High. The Coyotes struggled on offense to start the match and trailed 4-0 at the end of the first quarter. It wasn’t until the 5:37 mark of the second quarter that the Coyote offense broke through with a goal by Macklin Magdaleno to cut the deficit to 6-1. Magdaleno finished the night with a team-high five goals. Kevin Elizarraraz had three goals for the Coyotes and Brandon Cortez added two. Tyson Coombs had a goal to round out the scoring. Goalie RamnsonRebollar was credited with 12 saves. Early in the third, the Coyotes began to find some continuity. Elizarraraz scored at the 4:23 mark and Magdaleno followed with a goal at 3:16 that cut the Raider lead t0 9-5. Later in the match, when the Raiders had taken a 14-7 lead, the Coyotes went on a 3-0 run to cut the deficit to 14-10. Magdaleno and Elizarraraz each scored, followed by a goal by Cortez, that cut the lead to 14-10 at the 3:41 mark. But the Raiders were able to tighten their defense and that would be as close as the Coyotes would get. Buena Park closed out its season this weekwith its final match at Sonora on Thursday (past our presstime). This year the team was essentially three seniors and the rest sophomores as Buena Park looked to establish a new growth period for the program. It was the final home match for the three seniors, Magdaleno, Cortez and Coombs. Head coach Scott Liddicoat praised the three for their help in working with the younger players and leading the team. “They helped to lay the foundation for future successes by our program,” Liddicoat said.
