Girls water polo: CdM wins one, drops one

Steve Virgen

CORONA DEL MAR - A 14-0 opening victory over Rosary High apparently

didn’t get Corona del Mar High’s girls water polo team in the right frame

of mind. The Sea Kings failed to find their game and gave up three quick

goals in the final two minutes to fall to Santa Barbara, 6-3, Thursday

night in the Holiday Cup tournament co-hosted by CdM and Newport Harbor.

CdM (5-3) trailed, 3-2, to begin the fourth quarter as the Sea Kings

committed turnover after turnover with uncharacteristic sloppy passing.

“We just didn’t do a good job on passing the ball,” CdM Coach John

Vargas said. “Consequently, (Santa Barbara) held on to the ball a heck of

a lot more than we did.”

Sea Kings sophomore sensation Christina Hewko scored on a penalty shot

with six seconds left. She scored five goals in the win over Rosary.

Hewko came up with four steals and one block against Santa Barbara.

“(Hewko) does it all out there,” Vargas said. “She needed a lot more

help. She has to pick up the best player on the other team. She’s really

noticeable about how much stuff she has to do out there. She’s doing

well. She really doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, but she’s definitely

doing everything else out there.”

The Dons (4-1) seemed to be at the right place at the right time on

defense. Santa Barbara’s Rosie Godlis had a game-high seven steals. And

goalkeeper Charlotte Grey, who made her presence known with constant

play-by-play communication with her teammates, turned back nine shots.

Still, CdM had its fun against Rosary as the Sea Kings recorded their

first shutout of the season. CdM goalie Jessica Wells, who had 10 saves

against Santa Barbara, saved six shots.

Sophomore Danielle Carlson scored three goals for the Sea Kings and

Jessica Harkins threw in two in the final quarter.

Alexa Miller, Daniela DiGiacomo, Jessica Fries and Brittany Bowlus

also got on the scoreboard with one goal each.

The Sea Kings resume play today facing Orange County heavyweights. CdM

starts with a 9 a.m. game against Capistrano Valley, the No. 2 team in

Orange County. And then the No. 5 Sea Kings duel No. 6 Marina at 12:15

p.m.

HOLIDAY CUP

Corona del Mar 14, Rosary 0

Rosary 0 0 0 0 - 0

Corona del Mar 4 4 2 4 - 14

Corona del Mar - Hewko 5, Carlson 3, Harkins 2, Miller 1, DiGiacomo 1,

Fries 1, Bowlus 1.

Saves - Wells 6.

Santa Barbara 6, Corona del Mar 3

Santa Barbara 2 0 1 3 - 6

Corona del Mar 0 1 1 1 - 3

Santa Barbara - Boreta 3, Cahill 1, Nichols 1, Sweney 1.

Saves - Grey 9.

Corona del Mar - Miller 1, Carlson 1, Hewko 1.

Saves - Wells 10.