National League Roundup: Week 3 Basks In The Warm Sun

March 9, 2015

Weather has been a theme in National League play thus far so we must report that the sun was out and shining all weekend long at Segerstrom High School in Santa Ana, CA. With the temperatures hovering in the mid 80s it would be cliche but also accurate to note that the action heated up in the pool. While the Olympic Club faltered for the first time, they maintained their top spot in the standings ending Week 3 with an 8-1 record. Now all roads lead back to Northern California for the championship this April 11-12. A seeded schedule will be available soon but you can get an idea of how things will turn out by visiting the home of the National League at USAWaterPolo.org/NationalLeague. At that link you'll also find updated league leaders, team stats, and more. For complete Week 3 results, click here. Also, if you can't be in the area for the championship, all matches will be streamed on USA Water Polo TV at YouTube.com/USAWP. Now onto the round-up.

National League Week 3 Results

National League Standings (After Week 3)
International (0-9) 9pts

League Leaders(pdf)

Game Of The Week: There were a few to choose from in Week 3 but the Olympic Club-New York Athletic Club match on Saturday has to take the cake. Anytime these two teams get together it makes for a good match and this was no different. Let's fast forward to the final seconds of the fourth quarter. With the match tied at 8-8, Olympic Club's Brian Dudley hits from the outside with just seven seconds left for a 9-8 lead. It appeared as if the Olympic Club would escape with a victory. In the words of Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend." New York's Griffin White was in the right place at the right time to follow a shot and tip it home with just two seconds left to tie the game at 9-9 and force a shootout. After White scored in the shootout to put New York ahead 11-10, keeper Merrill Moses would come up with a stop to secure the win for New York and give the Olympic Club their first loss.

Family Guy: Much like the time Peter Griffin saved the bartender of the Drunken Clam before it burned down in the fictional show "Family Guy", Griffin White saved the New York Athletic Club from suffering a loss to The Olympic Club in the real life National League. Not only did the former UCLA standout force a shootout with his last second score, he also came through with a clutch score in the shootout.

Reynolds Wrap: Speaking of former UCLA standouts, while the Olympic Club may have suffered a loss they are still in the drivers seat headed into the championship round. They can thank Paul Reynolds for part of that as he has now taken over the National League lead in goals scored with 31. How did Reynolds climb the leaderboard so fast? He dropped 7 goals on USA White.

McQuinning!: McQuin Baron has been a mainstay in net for USA Blue and he has some stats to back it up. After Derek Wiebe-Bailey had a stranglehold on the saves lead for Weeks 1 and 2, Baron has nudged aside the former Long Beach State 49er totaling 71 saves. Wiebe-Bailey may be able to catch the USC Trojan as he trails by just one save.

Busy Bruin Brandon Brooks: Brandon Brooks started in goal for the Alumni team on Saturday morning falling to USA Blue 13-8. While things didn't go quite that well in the water for Brooks, he fared better on Sunday on the sidelines. As Head Coach of the UCLA women's water polo team, Brooks guided the top ranked Bruins to a 10-3 win over fourth ranked Cal.

New York Post(s) Big Weekend: After struggling to start off National League play, the New York Athletic Club rallied in a major way in Week 3. NYAC swept all three games this past weekend to push themselves back into the middle of the pack. Thanks to high scoring Stanford alum Alex Bowen (22 goals) and USC alum Kostas Genidounias (17 goals), New York has reasserted themselves as a major threat going into the championship.

Merrill Edge: Merrill Moses hasn't played in every game for his team, the New York Athletic Club, but when he does play he has been effective. Moses is leading the National League with a .613 save percentage just ahead of up and comer Andrew Chun. With two Olympic Games under his proverbial belt, the veteran Moses is a stable force in net for New York.

Kading Bar The Door: Wes Kading continues to hold down the assist leaderboard in the National League. The Capo Beach water poloist is closing in on double figure assists for his International team. The squad, however, remains in search of that elusive first victory.