When the game was on the line, Arroyo Grande had its best gunner on the 5-meter line, shooting critical penalty shots.

And when visiting Palos Verdes had its top gun at the same penalty line, Arroyo Grande had its best wall - goalie Tommy Martin - blocking a desperate comeback.

Arroyo Grande boys water polo faced a stiff test on Thursday, a Palos Verdes team that shared a No. 5 Division IV ranking with the Eagles for most of the season.

But when the two finally matched up for a first-round CIF Division IV playoff game at Arroyo Grande, it was the Eagles' ability to convert and deny penalty shots that earned them a 12-8 win.

With the win, Arroyo Grande advances to face Malibu in the second round of the playoffs on Saturday. Malibu is a team Arroyo Grande beat in the preseason.

Arroyo Grande coach Steve Allen scouted the Sea Kings on Tuesday, during their 9-7 win over Westlake in the Wild Card Round.

He knew his goalie, Martin, was in for a rough afternoon.

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“We made sure Tommy knew they would shoot from everywhere. That was the biggest thing,” Allen said of the Sea Kings' offense, of which he later termed “funky.”

“They shoot from everywhere. There's no organized offense,” Martin said.

Arroyo Grande, as a result, expected the unexpected. However, Martin's best block of the night came on a rather ordinary play: a penalty shot.

The block came at a critical time in the game, following a third quarter rally that gave the Eagles' a 10-7 lead. That lead was achieved on three straight converted penalty shots.

When the Sea Kings had their chance in the fourth quarter, Martin shut them down. He finished with 19 saves.

“With penalty shots, realistically, the shooter is going to make 9-out-of-10,” he said. “Half of it is guessing and half is looking where the ball is. You just go for it.”

Arroyo Grande was already down a man on the play when the foul was committed. Michal Halac's penalty shot attempt was to the left, smartly sniffed-out by Martin. The save preserved a 10-7 lead, which shrunk by a goal on Riley Burke's score at the 2:34 mark.

Yet again, Arroyo Grande earned a penalty shot. For the third time in the game, Arroyo Grande sent Jesse Gillespie to the 5-meter line after Mikey Benaron earned the foul in the set-hole.

“Their set ‘d' was very aggressive,” Benaron said. “But that's the name of the game. You just give it back.”

Gillespie shot his first three penalty shot attempts to the far-side, beating the Palos Verdes goalie every time. This time, he shot to the near-side corner, finishing 4-for-4 on the afternoon.

Benaron tacked on another score - in all reality, the coffin's nail - with 18 seconds left to give Arroyo Grande the 12-8 win.

All signs pointed to a more comfortable win for the Eagles when the ball was first dropped.

“We were pretty confident and pretty nervous,” Benaron said of entering the playoffs. “We all had the jitters.”

Despite the jitters, the Eagles spurted out to a 4-2 lead in the first quarter. Eric Marsh scored the first goal on a power shot downlow, with two minutes gone by.

However, the quarters' top playmaker was Patrick Cullen.

“He had his best game of the season,” Allen said. “He was the first quarter leader for us.”

He found Benaron with a cross pass to the weak side of the pool for a second goal with 1:46 left. And his shot from up top made the score 3-1. It came just 40 seconds later.

Gillespie scored the first of his seven goals on the next play, before it was matched by Palos Verdes to end the quarter.

In the second, Martin took over.

He made five saves, killing any sort of rally chances. In the meantime, Arroyo Grande received two more goals from Gillespie - the second coming on his first penalty goal with 4:44 left. Palos Verdes broke through on a skip shot and goal to the near-side to make the score 6-3 at the half.

In the third, Palos Verdes charged into the lead. Four unanswered goals gave the Sea Kings their first lead of the game at the 4:35-mark.

“We made some mistakes on defense that let them get back into the game,” Allen said. “Tommy missed a couple, I think he was trying to do too much.”

Gillespie stopped the bleeding, receiving a pass from Benaron at the 2-meter mark and powering in the shot from up top. He took his second penalty shot of the game on the next offensive series and recovered the lead. He drew, yet, another infraction on the next series.

This time, however, Allen had Eric Marsh take the shot. It was just as accurate as Gillespie's - giving Arroyo Grande a 9-7 lead entering the final quarter.

Gillespie and Martin's penalty shot heroics closed the door.

Pacifica 7, Righetti 5

OXNARD - Four second quarter goals were enough for the Tritons to end the Warriors' season in the first round of Division IV.

Righetti lost to Manhattan Beach Mira Costa in the finals last year. The Warriors had one senior this year.

Junior goal keeper Tom Ross made nine saves for the Warriors (16-14). Mitch Acompora, Josh Grall, Eric Duarte, Cody Lathouwers and Alex Johnson each scored a goal.

“Things happen,” said Righetti coach Kyle Shaffer. “The shots didn't go our way this time.”

Righetti was the PAC-7 League runner-up. Arroyo Grande ended the Warriors' 12-year run as league champions.

Simi Valley Royal routed Santa Ynez 17-4, and top-seeded Agoura breezed by Paso Robles 20-4 in Division IV games.

November 9, 2007