Sailors Cook Loyola, march into Saturday’s semifinals

Joseph Boo

MANHATTAN BEACH - After facing some heat from Loyola High’s boys

water polo team, it was time for the cook to turn down the flames.

Newport Harbor’s Ryan Cook scored four times in the second half to lead

the Sailors to a tough 8-6 victory at Mira Costa High School Tuesday.

The win catapults Newport Harbor (26-2) into the CIF Southern Section

Division I semifinals against El Toro Saturday, part of a double-header

at Belmont Plaza, with No. 1-seeded Long Beach Wilson dueling

Harvard-Westlake in the other half.

The Sailors came out sloppy, turning the ball over six times in the first

quarter. But Robert Weiner scored after a 1-0 deficit to tie it.

Newport Harbor’s offense, which was stifled by Loyola’s defense, came

alive in the second, getting some good counters. Brendan Hansen and Paul

Kepner scored, Peter Belden converted the penalty shot, and the Sailors

looked as if they were in control of the game.

Loyola (14-3) tied it with three goals in the third. Loyola’s two-meter

man Nick Andrejch, who Newport Harbor successfully shut down up to that

point, exploded for two of his three goals in that quarter.

“We knew all about him,” Newport Harbor Co-Coach Brian Kreutzkamp said.

“He’s one of the best two-meter man we’ve seen. We gave a good effort

against him though, I think he only got one goal from the two-meter

spot.”

Except for that scoring outburst, the defense of Cook and Weiner kept him

relatively quiet.

Right after Andrejch tied the game, Cook got his first goal on a

six-on-five. In the last 10 seconds of the third quarter, Cook scored

again on a man-up advantage.

“I was really happy with Cook’s play,” Kreutzkamp said. “Especially on

the six-on-five. He had the guts to take the shots.”

After the Cubs cut the lead down to one, Cook scored again, tipping a

beautiful Belden pass past the goalie. And when Andrejch muscled in a

rebound off a Tim Birdsong save, Cook answered within seconds, off

another Belden pass on another six-on-five advantage.

“We were sloppy in the first quarter, and good in the second. We

controlled the ball well,” said Kreutzkamp.

CIF DIVISION I PLAYOFFS

Newport Harbor 8, Loyola 6

Newport Harbor 1 3 2 2 - 8

Loyola 1 0 3 2 - 6

Newport Harbor: Cook 4, Belden 1, Weiner 1, Kepner 1. Saves: Birdsong 6.

Loyola: Andrejch 3, Rollo 2, Gambon 1. Saves: Moore 3.