YUCAIPA — The CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinal match between the Yucaipa and Westlake boys water polo teams was so good, it couldn’t be decided after four 7-minute periods. A final score also could not be reached following a pair of 3-minute overtime periods. It ultimately came down to sudden-death, and Westlake’s Christian Couch scored 29 seconds into the third extra period — his seventh goal of the match — to lift the top-seeded Warriors to a 17-16 victory Tuesday at Crafton Hills College. . Westlake (24-6) will play Mira Costa for the Division 1 championship on Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College at a time to be determined. Yucaipa finished their season with a 20-9 record. “If this were the first water polo game I ever saw, I would want to go play the sport,” Westlake coach Greg Olsen said. “This was a high-quality game. Yucaipa has a helluva good program and they are well-coached.” There were eight ties and seven lead changes during the contest. Months of work by both teams came down to 29 seconds at the end. “Both teams really deserved to advance,” Olsen said, added that this was the first year the program has reached the semifinals. Couch tied the score at 14 with a goal with 34.16 seconds remaining in the first overtime. He deflected a shot into the net. Couch also scored with 41 seconds remaining in the second overtime period to even the score at 16. Neither team could get more than a two-goal advantage throughout the match. “The way I look at it is that you have to get better every day because your teammates are getting better each day and you have to keep up with them,” Couch said. Another standout for Westlake was goaltender Alexey Malkov. The junior made a number of big saves to keep the score close. “They (Yucaipa) kept driving,” Malkov said. “Sometimes they would drop back and sometimes they would press.” Olsen is in his first year as Westlake’s coach. He was hired to be an assistant coach in the spring semester but became head coach when former coach Jens Cole took a job as an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton. Olsen was given the job on an interim basis at first. He went through the hiring process and was given the job on a permanent basis last month. “I was nervous at first,” Olsen said. “I wanted to give back what I learned about water polo to help the team. Related Articles High School Sports | San Bernardino boys water polo beats Arroyo Valley to reach Division 6 championship match High School Sports | Inland girls athlete of the week: Melanie Hewlett, Murrieta Valley High School Sports | Inland boys athlete of the week: Nolan Koopman, Rancho Cucamonga High School Sports | Arlington girls tennis team falls to Chadwick in Division 2 quarterfinal match High School Sports | Inland cross country league finals roundup: Woodcrest Christian’s Eyan Turk wins fourth title Blake Minkler led the Thunderbirds’ offense with five goals, while Tate Hudson, the son of Yucaipa head coach Ty Hudson, added four goals. Hudson said Hunter Tamara has provided offense and energy coming off the bench. Yucaipa reached the semifinals in Division 3 last year. CIF power rating based on in-season results elevated the Thunderbirds to Division 1. “Our kids are disappointed today, but I think in a couple of days they will realize what we accomplished,” said Hudson. “Very few Inland Empire teams have done this well in Division 1.” Related Articles High School Sports | San Bernardino boys water polo beats Arroyo Valley to reach Division 6 championship match High School Sports | Inland girls athlete of the week: Melanie Hewlett, Murrieta Valley High School Sports | Inland boys athlete of the week: Nolan Koopman, Rancho Cucamonga High School Sports | Arlington girls tennis team falls to Chadwick in Division 2 quarterfinal match High School Sports | Inland cross country league finals roundup: Woodcrest Christian’s Eyan Turk wins fourth title