Under the bright lights of the USC pool, the Cubs opened their long-awaited playoff campaign against the Santa Margarita Eagles. The opener saw a big turnout from the home crowd who came to support the Cubs in their campaign for a CIF championship.

Quarter 1

The Cubs win the opening sprint but fail to get a shot of before the shot clock expires. On the defensive end, though, the Cubs look sharper as they come up with a steal that leads to an immediate ejection for the Eagles. The Cubs see the opportunity to score and skip one past the Eagle keeper with a shot form Vavic. Out of the goal, the Eagles look hyper aggressive and manage to get a decent look at goal that flies off the crossbar. The rebound shot goes wide for the Eagles and the Cubs get a quick shot off on the other end but are unlucky to miss. The Eagles come back down and work the ball around for a shot from distance that isn’t close to the target. On the next Cub offensive possession, Engstrom forces an ejection and the Cubs use some beautiful passing to set Altmayer up for the second goal of the game. Right after their second score, the Cubs suffer their first exclusion which allows a deflected shot to find the back of the Cub net. In response to the goal, Reynolds earns another exclusion and digs in against his man to get himself a goal from the post. “Let’s Go Cubs!” erupts from the stands as the Eagles fail to even get a shot off responding to the bucket. A Cub goal is called back by the ref who says the Cubs committed an offensive foul. It doesn’t seem to matter much to the Cubs as they come up with a steal. Unfortunately, the shot they produce hits hard off the post, but the Eagles send their shot straight to Mueller, setting up an attack that sees Kranz skip another one past the Eagle goalie. An excellent defensive play from Kranz prevents a certain goal and gives the Cubs one last chance to score in the quarter, but they lose the ball on the very last pass before the shot.

Score 4-1; Scorers: Vavic, Altmayer, Reynolds, Kranz

Quarter 2

In the second frame, the Cubs again take the sprint and use the first possession to send a shot wide as the clock expires. On the defensive end, the Cubs stifle the Eagles as they can only muster an easily collected shot. The Cubs run out of time on the shot clock, but the Eagles make a boneheaded mistake that leads to a goal from Hale. The keeper completely fell for the fake from the Cub attacker. The Eagles finally find some life on offense after the score though and manage to convert for the second time of the half. The Cubs continue to dominate the game, though, as Reynolds makes an athletic play to tip the ball into the net. After the sixth Cub goal, the Eagles again only muster an easily deflected shot, renewing the Cub possession. The Cubs don’t look too much better on their chance as they fail to register a shot before the shot clock expires, but Hale comes up with a quick steal on the other end to make up for it. The Cubs again don’t register a shot on a possession that uses up the entire clock. The Eagles don’t seem to learn from their mistakes, though, as the Cubs steal the ball immediately for a Kranz goal. A Cub ejection after the goal prompts the Eagles to use a timeout to regroup for the 6 on 5 opportunity. The message from the Eagle coach seems to have a positive effect on his team, but they fall literally inches away from registering a third goal. The Cubs give themselves a stellar opportunity to score from the post but send the chance wide. Coming down the other end, the Eagles register a sniper shot on goal to bring them within four goals. As an answer to the opposition, the Cubs lose the ball on their end but force a prayer of a shot from the Eagles on the other side.

Score 7-3; Scorers: Hale, Reynolds, Kranz

Quarter 3

The opening sprint of the second half is won by the Cubs who fail to produce a shot within the shot clock. On the way back down, though, a Pernecky steal gives Vavic a golden chance before he is fouled and awarded a penalty. The keeper saves the penalty, but the Cubs steal the ball back quickly to take an ill-advised shot at goal. The Eagles offense seems to have found its rhythm shortly before Pernecky gets another steal. Altmayer gets a chance but a foul hinders him from scoring. The Eagles look to score but only produce that clangs off the bar. The Cubs offense looks to have stalled, and the Eagles respond with the opening goal of the second half from a mental lapse on the part of the Cubs. In response Reynolds makes an extra effort in the post to finish off his hat trick. The Eagles lose the momentum as they turn the ball over yet again but are bailed out by a foul from the Cub offense. The Cubs throw the ball away off a weak pass, but the Eagles make a weak pass of their own and return possession to the Cubs. The Cubs take a strong shot but send the effort off the bar shortly before closing the quarter on another steal.

Score 8-4; Scorers: Reynolds

Quarter 4

The final sprint of the match is won by the home team for the fourth consecutive time, allowing the Cubs to force an Eagle exclusion. The Cubs use the man advantage to allow Engstrom to score near post against the weak Eagle keeper. Directly following the bucket, the Eagles find the back of the net cross cage to cut the lead back to four. The home crowd cheers the team on as Hale uses some astounding strength to muscle a goal past three Eagle defenders. The Cub defense seems to be on the decline, though, as an absolute beauty of a shot bars in from distance for the Eagles. The Eagle keeper comes up with a save after the score, allowing his team a chance to score. The Eagles respond to their keeper by converting for the fourth straight time to cut the deficit to three with four minutes remaining. A Cub shot gets deflected out of bounds, but the second chance they get results in a turnover. The Cubs finally come up with a stop and call timeout on the offensive side of the ball after forcing an ejection. The team utilizes their man advantage to find Kranz who snipes a shot cross cage to the top corner to put the Cubs back firmly in control. The Eagles seem to have lost some steam as they turn the ball over foolishly. The Cubs revert to possession polo on their offensive opportunity, running the clock all the way down before finally getting rid of it. The Eagles only have a minute and forty-seven seconds to overcome the four-goal deficit. Mueller makes a nice stop to keep the Eagles off the score sheet. The Cubs again run the clock all the way down as Mueller holds the ball for nearly the whole possession. The Eagles respond to desperation as they again score with forty-four seconds left in the match. The Cubs run the clock all the way down once more, leaving only thirteen seconds in the game. The Eagles take a thirty-second time and produce a shot that is easily parried by Mueller.

Score 11-8; Scorers: Engstrom, Hale, Kranz

The Cubs win seals their semi-final berth in CIF, a game against rivals Harvard Westlake for the second time this season. The match will be held at the Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine next Wednesday. The winner of the game will advance to the CIF finals for a chance to bring home a ring.