Furious rally falls just short for Laguna Beach boys’ water polo in CIF Division 1 semifinals

Hutton Ledger had a torn right shoulder this year for the Laguna Beach High boys’ water polo team.

Rather than sit out his senior season, Ledger switched to playing left-handed, though his time was typically limited to a couple of minutes here and there.

“The doctors said that it’s not going to get worse, but it’s going to hurt like hell,” Breakers coach Camron Hauer said. “He just pushed through it all year. He’s going to get shoulder surgery in December.”

To Hauer, that level of heart and dedication represented this year’s team well. Ledger sparked a fourth-quarter comeback for top-seeded Laguna Beach on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

It came up just short, though, as No. 4-seeded Foothill claimed a 6-5 upset win to end the Breakers’ season.

Foothill’s Bronson Birdsall (11) deflects a shot by Laguna’s Coleman Judd (7) during the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs at Irvine’s Woollett Aquatics Center on Wednesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Foothill’s John Bergstedt earned a steal in the closing seconds to help preserve the victory for the Crestview League champion Knights (20-10), who will face Orange Lutheran for the title on Saturday.

Junior Cade Anderton scored twice to lead Laguna Beach, which had just one goal late into the third quarter as Foothill opened up a 6-1 lead.

Knights senior goalkeeper Riley Clansen, who signed with the University of California earlier in the day, made nine saves on the match.

“He’s so good, he gets in the head of other players,” Hauer said. “That was just happening a lot. We were barring out here and there in spots where we normally wouldn’t, and that’s because he just does such a great job of taking over the cage.”

But the Breakers (18-11), an at-large team after finishing fourth place in the Surf League, started showing signs of life. Anderton scored a power-play goal late in the third quarter.

Laguna Beach goalie Tyler Swensen (1) stops a shot by Foothill’s William Griswold (8) during the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs at Irvine’s Woollett Aquatics Center on Wednesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Ledger fed Anderton for another goal inside, then senior captain Sai Bassett’s counterattack goal narrowed the margin further to 6-4 with 4:52 left in the match.

Bassett assisted Diego Audebert’s goal with 34 seconds left, and the Breakers got the ball back in the closing seconds following a Foothill turnover. But the equalizer didn’t come.

Coleman Judd had a team-best three steals for the Breakers, and junior goalkeeper Tyler Swensen had seven saves and a pair of steals.

William Griswold had a pair of goals to lead the Knights.

Bassett said he will miss playing with the Breakers. The senior class had a special bond with Hauer, a Laguna Beach alumnus who took over this year when Ethan Damato resigned.

Laguna’s Maxwell Schlaich takes a shot to the corner of the cage during the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs against Foothill at Irvine’s Woollett Aquatics Center on Wednesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Hauer started coaching in the program as a frosh-soph coach when the players in the current senior class were freshmen.

“This Laguna program really makes water polo fun,” Bassett said. “You’re really grinding with the brothers next to you. I’m proud to say that everyone on the team is one of my closest friends, my brothers. We’re hanging every day, and Cam really fostered that.”

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