Girls water polo: Mesa too much for Eagles

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - After taking down its Pacific Coast League and

crosstown rival Estancia High, 14-7, the Costa Mesa girls water polo team

appeared ready to play another game Wednesday.

Six different girls scored for the host Mustangs (7-7), who are on a

five-game winning streak, as Mesa made frequent substitutions from its

13-player roster. The Eagles (3-5) had just nine players and one was

junior goalie Laura Morton, who stopped eight shots.

“(The Mustangs) were so pumped,” said Mesa co-coach Mike Whitman, who

played for the Mustangs water polo team last year. “We’re doing very well

right now. There has been major improvement and everyone is stepping up

and playing their roles.”

Senior Ashley Wright played the role of a hot shooter, putting in a

game-high six goals. She also had one assist and two of the Mustangs’ 19

steals. Mesa sophomore goalie Gina Paulhus led the defense with eight

steals and six saves.

“(Wright is) a dominant player,” Whitman said. “There are not too many

girls that can stop her. She has a lot of size and she uses that.”

Wright scored two goals from set in the first quarter, when senior

Candice Carpenter netted her three goals to help the Mustangs to a 6-1

lead.

Mesa senior Sarah Douglas contributed two goals, while senior Katie

Axton and juniors Allison Gravis and Katie Thorsness added one goal each.

“They had two platoons of girls,” said a wet Bob Bandaruk, Estancia’s

Coach.

Apparently, the Eagles had plenty of energy left because they

playfully pushed Bandaruk in the pool after the game.

“That’s all right; (We) did a good enough job,” he said. “They’ve been

waiting to do this to me for a while now.”

Bandaruk was particularly impressed with his team’s performance in the

second quarter, when the Eagles outscored the Mustangs, 4-1, in the last

four minutes.

Estancia senior Diana Kopasek made the most of a player advantage

situation and scored the first of her two goals from about six meters

out, drawing the Eagles to a 9-2 deficit.

Senior Jasmine Geider, a three-sport athlete for Estancia, scored

twice before halftime, including a nifty steal that set up her own

breakaway goal with 11 seconds left. Geider led the Eagles with three

goals, while her twin sister, Hanni, added two.

However, the Mustangs still held a 10-5 advantage at halftime and

scored three goals in the third period to coast to an easy win.

“Last year, (the Mesa boys team) didn’t beat Estancia,” Whitman said.

“To win (Wednesday) as a coach, it’s especially sweet.”

The Mesa junior varsity squad, also coached by Whitman and Ann-Marie

Krenik, defeated Estancia, 9-3. The Mustangs won bragging rights as Perla

Marroquin and Ashley Hamilton scored two goals each.

GIRLS

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Costa Mesa 14, Estancia 7

Estancia 1 4 1 1 - 7

Costa Mesa 6 4 3 1 - 14

Estancia - J. Geider 3, H. Geider 2, Kopasek 2. Saves - Morton 8.

Costa Mesa - Wright 6, Carpenter 3, Douglas 2, Thorsness 1, Axton 1,

Gravis 1. Paulhus 6.