LOS ALAMITOS, California. April 23. THE 7th Annual Premier League
\nDivision I Championships came to an exhilarating end today after three
\nmonths and almost 100 games of elite water polo action. Los Angeles Water
\nPolo Club edged out Shore Aquatics in a Championship overtime shootout in
\nwhich L.A.'s Brandon Brooks earned his Outstanding Goalkeeper award with
\nthree blocks to lead L.A. to victory, 12-10. New York Athletic Club, the
\nfavorite going into the final tournament, defeated the Pacific Zone National
\nTeam for third place, 12-9.<\/p>\n
"It was New York's tournament to lose," said Men's National Team Head Coach
\nRicardo Azevedo. "They picked a bad time for a bad game, but that is the
\nfantastic thing about Premier League, any team can win on any given day."<\/p>\n
This proved true in the Championship game of the Premier League Division I
\nseries. The final game began in front of a crowd of roaring fans out to
\ncheer on the two local teams- Long Beach Shore Aquatics and Los Angeles
\nWater Polo Club. The teams nearly mirrored one another in talent and the
\nscore card proved it. Each team had nine ejections, twelve goalie saves and
\nnumerous National Team Athletes and Olympians on their loaded rosters. In
\nquarter three, Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, Calif.\/UC Irvine\/Shore Aquatics) and
\nChris Segesman (Santa Barbara, Calif.\/CSULB 2002\/Los Angeles WPC), two of
\nthe most decorated athletes in the Premier League series were called on a
\ndouble ejection. If ever there was a "premier" match up, this was it. With
\n2:25 left on the clock, Bailey tied the score for the seventh time, 9-9,
\nsending the teams into a five-meter shootout. The two 2004 Olympic
\ngoalkeepers swam to their facing cages and the crowd went silent. Jeff
\nNesmith (Long Beach, Calif.\/Stanford 2003\/Shore Aquatics) stepped up to the
\npenalty line for Shore, but Brandon Brooks (Honolulu, HA.\/UCLA\/Los Angeles
\nWPC) denied the shot. Next, Kevin Witt (Glendale, Calif.\/LMU 2003\/Los
\nAngeles WPC) skipped a shot past Shore's Genai Kerr (San Diego, Calif.\/UC
\nIrvine\/Shore Aquatics), 10-9. Bailey was up next for Shore, but Brooks
\nsmacked the ball down. At the other end Kerr got hold of Tamas Szego's (Los
\nAngeles, Calif.\/LMU\/Los Angeles WPC) shot, denying the point to L.A.
\nHighschooler Matt Sagehorn (Long Beach, Calif.\/Long Beach Wilson HS\/Shore
\nAquatics) netted a clean corner shot past Brooks, 10-10, and Greg Krum
\nbarely slipped the ball by Kerr, 11-10. It all came down to the next shot
\nand Brooks came through with the save, securing a Los Angeles victory,
\n11-10. Despite the L.A. lead, each team went through all five shooters,
\nrevealing a final score of 12-10.<\/p>\n
"I am beginning to like the five-meter shot," said Brooks, referring to the
\nnew rule that changed penalty shots and overtime shootouts from the
\nfour-meter line to the five. "It was a fantastic way to end the tournament."<\/p>\n
AWARDS:
\nOutstanding Youth: J.W. Krumpholz (Tustin, Calif.\/Foothill H.S.\/Los Angeles
\nWPC)
\nOutstanding Goalkeeper: Brandon Brooks (Honolulu, HA.\/UCLA\/Los Angeles WPC)
\nOutstanding Defender: Chris Segesman (Santa Barbara, Calif.\/CSULB 2002\/Los
\nAngeles WPC)
\nOutstanding Offensive Player: Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, Calif.\/UC
\nIrvine\/Shore Aquatics)<\/p>\n
Premier League is a high-caliber water polo tournament series put on by the
\nMen's Water Polo National Team as a tool to allow Olympic Hopefuls, National
\nTeam Athletes and Olympians to play together in order to improve the
\nNational Team Program for the future.<\/p>\n
For more information about the Premier League Championship tournament and
\nupcoming USA Water Polo events, please visit the EVENTS page of the USA
\nWater Polo website (www.usawaterpolo.org).<\/p>\n
USA Water Polo, Inc. is a non-profit corporation organized for the purpose
\nto serve as the national governing body for the sport of water polo in the
\nUnited States under the auspices of the United States Olympic Committee
\n(USOC).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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