Goncalves goal leads No. 1 Golden West past No.2 West Valley in Mt. SAC men's water polo tourney thriller

3C2A Men's Water Polo: Scoreboard l Standings

WALNUT - Joao Goncalves scored with :04 left to lift top-ranked Golden West to an electrifying 10-9 win over No. 2 West Valley Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College. The much-anticipated battle between two of the state's traditional men's water polo powerhouses came down to the wire, thanks to a two-goal rally by West Valley in the game's final three minutes.

Golden West grabbed a 9-7 lead with 3:48 remaining on Goncalves' third tally of the contest. Ali Cinar Nuray brought the Vikings (10-2) to within 9-8 with his fourth goal of the game 26 seconds later. Peter Kohari tied it up with :58 on the clock, but Goncalves found the back of the cage just before the final buzzer to win it for the Rustlers (9-1).

Nuray opened the game with a power-play goal a minute after the opening sprint, but the Rustlers countered with scores from Michael Rodgers and Goncalves for a short-lived 2-1 advantage. Nuray tied it at 2-2 at 4:52, but GWC's Wemmer Van Beukering scored with 1:52 left to make it 3-2.

Five consecutive West Valley exclusions finally resulted in a Goncalves power-play tally and a 4-2 GWC lead at the 5:36 mark in the second. WVC's Pa'Kalani Saxton Vaka and GWC's Wyatt Mitchell traded six-on-five goals before Nuray and Makar Salnikov scored for the Vikings to tie it up at 5-5. A pair of goals from Rodgers ended the quarter with the Rustlers on top 7-5.

Jacob Rogers hit to bring WVC to within 7-6, but Rodgers counters with his fourth of the game to give GWC an 8-6 advantage with 4:33 left. Salnikov converted a five-meter at 4:03, but Goncalves answered at 3:48. Nuray and Kohari evened it up with a minute left to set the stage for the game-ending heroics from Goncalves.

Goncalves and Rodgers paced GWC with four goals apiece, while Mitchell and Van Beukering had one each. Nuray topped the WVC stat sheet with four scores, followed by two from Salnikov with two and Kohari, Rogers and Saxton Vaka. Boston Frost made nine saves to pick up the win in the cage, and Luka Rocha Gentil stopped seven Golden West shots for the Vikings.

The teams have tussled six times in the regular season since 2017, with Golden West winning four times. They have battled four consecutive times, 2021-2024, in the 3C2A state championship game, with the Rustlers, who have won eight straight titles, taking all four in thrilling fashion by a combined 49-38 score.

(Matt Folsom, CCCWPCA SID)