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HUNTINGTON BEACH — Corona del Mar water polo player William Weir has an excellent source for learning about one of the Sea Kings’ all-time greats.
Weir’s father Ryan tells stories about two-time Olympian Chris Oeding. Ryan Weir and Oeding both attended Corona del Mar and were teammates at Cal.
“That’s my dad’s good friend,” Weir said of Oeding, who helped the Golden Bears win three consecutive NCAA titles in the early 1990s. “He’s a beast.”
Weir offered his rendition of Oeding on Wednesday. He was the Sea Kings’ lone returning starter in a Sunset League showdown at Huntington Beach.
The Cal committed senior scored four goals and added two assists, two field blocks and a steal to lead the Sea Kings to an 11-8 victory.
“He impacts the game in a lot of ways that people with an untrained eye don’t see,” Corona del Mar coach Lucas Reynolds said Weir, a first-team All-County selection last season. “He has defensive intuition that you just don’t teach.”
“(He is) elite with his understanding of what’s in his area and his surroundings,” the coach added. “He’s a very unselfish player so he’s always trying to make the right play.”
The 6-foot-5 Weir is known for his ability to guard center but played mostly left-side attacker for Corona del Mar (12-5, 5-0) against Huntington Beach (11-11, 1-2).
Weir set the tone by scoring three of the Sea Kings’ first four goals, including a slick lob shot for a 4-1 lead early in the second period.
He also united with an emerging group of seniors to answer a surge by the Oilers and JacksonHolmes in the third period.
Early in the fourth, Corona del Mar’s Drew Johnson tipped away an entry pass to center that turned into his strike from 2 meters for a 10-7 lead. Weir recorded the assist.
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Moments later, a steal by senior Hudson Castillo led to a counterattack strike by senior Brody Rauth. Versatile junior Blake Jurevich had the assist.
“That’s a big part of our game — transition,” Weir said.
Rauth scored two of his three goals on the counterattack. He also assisted a redirect by Weir in front of the net for the first goal.
Senior goalie Colton Kozlowski made nine saves to help anchor Corona del Mar’s defense. Junior left-hander Jack Jacobson added two goals off the bench.
“We’ve been rapidly improving,” Reynolds said. “It’s very exciting.”
The emergence of the juniors and seniors has been critical for Corona del Mar. The CIF-SS Open Division runner-up from last season lost UC Irvine committed senior Koosha Mirrafati to a season-ending shoulder injury, Reynolds confirmed.
Weir said the Sea Kings have dedicated their season to Mirrafati.
“He’s still extremely involved with our team. He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached,” Reynolds said. “He’s gone into a little bit of coaching role.”
Holmes, a junior attacker, scored a match-high five goals — all on outside shots. He scored with 23 left in the third period to trim the Sea Kings’ lead to 9-7.
“He crushed it,” Oilers coach Nick Graffis said of Holmes. “Very gifted athlete.”
Huntington Beach started only one senior in Connor Hatfield.
The Oilers played the second half without junior center Kyle Sturdy due to injury, Graffis said. Starting goalie Van Johnston had six saves before yielding to Landon Hobson, who had three.
“I thought we did really well,” Graffis said. “CdM is a really good team.”
Corona del Mar is seeded eighth for the Elite 8 tournament this week at Harvard-Westlake. The Sea Kings open with rival Newport Harbor on Thursday and faced JSerra and Santa Margarita on Friday to close out pool play.
“We’re going to go out there and compete,” Weir said. “It’s all for November (and the playoffs).”
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