Girls water polo: Sailors hang on

Tony Altobelli

NEWPORT BEACH - Newport Harbor High’s girls water polo used a

strong, offensive third quarter, then survived an early, fourth-quarter

rush for a 6-4 nonleague win over visiting Esperanza Tuesday.

“We didn’t really do anything different in that third quarter,”

Sailors Coach Bill Barnett said. “Our intensity was a little stronger and

we were just able to put together a good streak of offense and defense.”

That streak Barnett was referring to was a three-minute stretch of the

third quarter when the Sailors (6-1) scored four consecutive goals to

turn a 2-2 tie into a 6-2 lead over the Aztecs (5-2).

Kyndra Cox scored two of the team’s four goals in that span, while

Katherine Gregg and Ali Taylor scored the other two goals.

Cox finished the game with four of the Sailors’ six goals with her

strong play at the two-meter slot.

“It was a hard, defensive game for both teams out there,” Barnett

said. “We’re still making some mistakes out there, but it’s early in the

season.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Esperanza got on the board first when

Sunny Rashidi scored on a 6-on-5 advantage.

Newport, ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Division I preseason

polls, tied the game less than a minute later when Cox found the

upper-right corner of the goal with a shot.

Cox made it 2-1 on a four-meter penalty shot, before Esperanza’s Amy

Erwin caught the Sailors’ goalie too aggressive on defense and shot into

a nearly empty net with 30 seconds remaining in the first half.

“We need to stop making mistakes that result in the other team scoring

goals,” Barnett said. “We also need to generate some more offense. We

have the tools to do so.”

After the 4-0 run by the Sailors in the third quarter, Esperanza,

ranked eighth in CIF-SS, answered with two quick goals by Diana Catran

and Jessica Conner less than a minute into the fourth quarter to cut the

lead to 6-4.

“In both of those situations, we probably could have stopped both of

those goals from happening if we would have fouled a little bit earlier,”

Barnett said.

From there, the Sailors’ defense clamped down and the Aztecs would get

no closer.

“It was definitely a game of runs out there,” Barnett said.

“Fortunately we were able to hold on to the lead after their last spurt.”

In goal for the Sailors, Heather Deyden had three saves, while Kelsi

Mills had six saves for the Aztecs.

It wasn’t all good news in Sailor country, however. Senior Jenna

Barto, an All-CIF player with 40 goals and 40 assists last season, is

lost for the remainder of the season with a stomach injury.

“They can’t figure out what it is,” Barnett said. “It’s a tough loss

for us because she was one of our top scorers last year.”

Next up for the Sailors, they host University High Thursday afternoon.

NONLEAGUE

Newport Harbor 6, Esperanza 4

Esperanza 0 2 0 2 - 4

Newport Harbor 0 2 4 0 - 6

Esperanza - Erwin, Rashidi, Catran, Conner; Newport - Cox 4, Gregg 1,

Taylor 1. Saves - Esperanza: Mills 6; Newport: Deyden 3.