Girls water polo: Newport ekes out a squeaker, 8-7

Richard Dunn

CORONA DEL MAR - It was almost too close to call, but, amid an

early-evening fog and after a frosh-soph game extended into sudden-death

overtime, Newport Harbor High’s Sailors captured the unofficial Back Bay

championship.

In what was totally under-billed as a nonleague girls water polo game,

Newport Harbor senior captain Erin Ball scored on a rebound shot to beat

the game-ending buzzer Friday as Coach Bill Barnett’s Sailors eked out an

8-7 victory over host Corona del Mar.

“That play was right off the drawing board,” Barnett quipped with a

chuckle, after a wild finish.

On the final series, CdM sophomore standout Christina Hewko deflected

a shot attempt by Harbor’s Jenna Booth, then following a scramble to the

loose ball, Ball picked it up and fired in the rebound from about four

meters.

“I thought it was a no goal. I saw the crowd standing, but I thought

it was (too late),” Ball said. “Paige (Lansing) did a nice job of

hustling to the ball. Paige tipped (the loose ball) to Erin Kelly Bates

and it just missed her hand, so I just had to go for it.

“I was praying that (my shot) would at least go somewhere near the

cage.”

It was a bull’s-eye shot for Ball, crowning a contest that elevated

this long-heated Newport-Corona rivalry to perhaps another level.

While it had the makings of a thriller with the Sea View League

Sailors (4-1) coming in ranked No. 4 in the Orange County coaches’ poll

and the Pacific Coast League Sea Kings (4-2) No. 5, it played out with

even greater theater.

Only once in the game did a team lead by more than one goal.

“I wouldn’t mind having that luck,” CdM Coach John Vargas deadpanned,

referring to the winning goal, which capped a riveting four quarters of

intense play, after a late start because of the frosh-soph game (won by

Harbor, 7-6, after two three-minute overtime periods still couldn’t

settle the score).

The Tars enjoyed a strong second half with six goals, rallying from a

3-2 halftime deficit.

Lansing, a sophomore, ignited the comeback with her first of two goals

on the counterattack just 23 seconds into the second half, tying the

game, 3-3.

Ball, who entered the game with 10 steals, made one of her six steals

to open the half, then set up Lansing’s goal with a pass on target.

Later, Booth scored on a rocket from about seven meters with 4:22 left

in the third quarter, giving Newport Harbor a 4-3 lead.

On a six-on-five play, Booth scored again on an outside shot with 3:34

on the clock, upping the Tars’ lead to 5-3, the biggest advantage in the

game by either side and the only time a team led by more than a goal.

Corona del Mar, however, came back quickly as sophomore Brittany

Bowlus scored from the set position on a dish from junior Jessica Fries

on a player-up advantage.

Early in the fourth quarter, CdM junior Alexa Miller scored on an open

net to tie the game, 5-5. The game was also tied at one, two, three, six

and seven.

Lansing’s counterattack goal put Newport ahead, 6-5, then CdM’s

Danielle Carlson tied it, 6-6, with 3:34 to play on an assist from Hewko.

CdM sophomore Daniela DiGiacomo put her team in front, 7-6, when she

tipped in a loose ball with 2:36 on the clock, after her original shot

hit the left post.

With 1:00 left, Newport Harbor junior standout Katherine Belden

knotted matters, 7-7, on a penalty shot.

“We both played well,” Vargas said. “They just did a lot better on

six-on-fives than us.”

Barnett said he told his team at halftime to finish off the scoring

opportunities, instead of squandering chances.

“We were getting a lot of opportunities, but we just weren’t getting

it into the cage,” Barnett said of his team, which outshot CdM in the

first half, 10-9.

Both schools play in the Newport/Corona Tournament next week, which

features six teams in the coaches’ Top-10 poll.

NONLEAGUE

Newport Harbor 8, Corona del Mar 7

Score by Quarters

Newport Harbor 1 1 3 3 - 8

Corona del Mar 2 1 1 3 - 7

Newport Harbor - Belden 2, Booth 2, Lansing 2, J. Ball 1, E. Ball 1.

Saves - Deyden 8.

Corona del Mar - Carlson 2, Hewko 2, Bowlus 1, DiGiacomo 1, Miller 1.

Saves - Wells 3.