The following is from Del Mar Times – Solana Beach Sun – Carmel Valley News article, “Cathedral Catholic boys outlast Bishop’s to capture CIF Open Water Polo Championship.”

The path wasn’t necessarily the smoothest, but when the dust settled Saturday night, Nov. 11, at La Jolla High School’s Coggan Family Aquatic Complex, it was Cathedral Catholic holding up the trophy as CIF Boys Open Division Water Polo champions following a thrilling, 11-10, overtime decision over defending champion The Bishop’s School.

It was the Dons’ third victory in four match-ups with the Knights this fall and returned them to the top of the section podium for the second time in three years. The triumph improved their overall ledger to 20-10 while Bishop’s is now 15-15. Fifth-year Cathedral Head Coach Tommy Corcoran said the most important element for his team in the title game was just staying true to who they were.

“Defense was a big time factor, we got clutch goals when we needed them but the real key was just playing ‘Dons’ polo,’ “said Corcoran after taking a plunge in the pool after the final buzzer. “We certainly had some strategies specific to Bishop’s, but I tell them ‘You worry about you’—you’ve done this consistently all year.

“This is a phenomenal team with phenomenal heart and spirit and a group of senior leaders who have carried us throughout the season.”

It was a back-and-forth affair. Goals by senior Orion Erwin and freshman Braylen Axline lifted Cathedral to a 2-0 lead after one period but Bishop’s scored the next three goals before a Will Zimmer tally late in the second sent the teams into halftime all even.

Four third period goals, scored by four different players, made it 7-5 for Cathedral heading into the final eight minutes of regulation. Once again, Bishop’s rallied with three consecutive goals, the third, senior Lukas Peabody’s fifth of the contest, with 1:39 remaining, put the Knight’s up, 8-7, and on the precipice of back-to-back crowns. The Dons answered quickly, however, as sophomore Max Arnold’s second goal of the game forced overtime 22 seconds later.

Wasting no time, Axline converted 16 seconds into the first OT period to put Cathedral back in command. That set the stage for Ben Mirisch and the Dons’ star was ready for the moment. The leading scorer for Corcoran’s squad, the USC-bound senior had been held scoreless through the first 34 minutes Saturday but at the tail end of a man-up situation Mirisch rifled home one of the most important goals of his prep career. The score, coming with just four seconds to go in the first OT period pushed the Cathedral advantage to two.

Forty-seven seconds into overtime session No. 2, Mirisch struck again. Now leading, 11-8, with just under three minutes to play, the Don faithful in the crowd were poised to celebrate.

“I was looking for the ball in that situation and knew I needed to score for our team,” said Mirisch. “We’d lost to them once in overtime earlier in the season and knew we couldn’t have that again.”

Unfortunately for the faint of heart in the Cathedral camp, Bishop’s was not ready to roll over. The uber-talented Peabody, taking advantage of a penalty that put Mirisch on the bench, scored a 6-on-5 goal and 40 seconds later, while being heavily marked, curled a cross cage bender in to make it 11-10 with 60 seconds on the clock.

Having already seen Bishop’s twice reel off three unanswered goals to erase a deficit, Corcoran called time out to steady the ship for the final minute.

“They owe us a call (alluding to the 14-4 ejection disparity), find the center, good things will happen, the clock is our friend.” said Corcoran when asked what the message was at the game’s most critical juncture. “We’re super strong defensively, have a one-goal lead, one minute to go, get an exclusion, be patient, use 60 seconds of clock.”

The description worked pretty much to perfection, the Dons’ drawing a penalty with 46 seconds left and playing keep away to close it out.

“You have to be an optimist in sports, and I felt pretty calm in that final minute,” said Corcoran. “I felt like the boys did everything to put themselves in that position and I trusted that they had the resolve to finish the job.

“They’d been doing it all year against top teams and there was no reason to expect they wouldn’t do it again.” He was also quick to acknowledge a worthy foe.

“That was an extremely close game between two excellent teams, hats off to Bishop’s,” he said. “Down two and three late, they fought and never quit.”

Mirisch, who as a reserve on the 2021 Cathedral championship squad, said it was a great way to conclude high school polo. “That pressure at the end, that’s just sports, that’s what happens. We had energy and confidence, knew what we had to do and got it done. This was a great way to end it, the cherry on top—for sure, the highlight of my career.”

That career is not quite over as both Cathedral Catholic and Bishop’s will now play in the eight-team CIF Southern California Regional Championship. In Tuesday’s quarterfinals, Cathedral will play at Corona del Mar and Bishop’s will be at Newport Harbor. Friday’s semi-finals and Saturday’s final will be played at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.