Girls water polo: Sea Kings drop 7-4 decision

Steve Virgen

CORONA DEL MAR - Like the chilled water in Corona del Mar High’s

pool, the Sea Kings girls water polo team went cold in the fourth period

in a 7-4 nonleague loss to visiting Santa Margarita Saturday.

Santa Margarita (14-4), which led 4-3 after three periods, outscored

the Sea Kings, 3-1, in the fourth quarter, as CdM (12-5) struggled on

offense.

The Sea Kings missed the mark on four out of their five shots and

committed three turnovers in the final period.

CdM’s pool was without heating Saturday, but that didn’t stop the

Eagles’ hot start. Kristina Kunkel, a member of the junior national team

(20-and-under), scored the first of her three goals 18 seconds into the

contest.

Santa Margarita also defeated CdM, 7-3, in the second round of the

Santa Barbara Tournament Jan. 11., when the Eagles led, 5-1, after three

periods.

“The effort was great the whole game,” CdM Coach Aaron Chaney said.

“It was just some mental breakdowns in the fourth quarter. We had three

or four breakdowns that led to very easy goals for them, like their first

goal.”

Despite Kunkel’s early goal, the Sea Kings, the top-ranked team in CIF

Southern Section Division IV, were able to stay even with Eagles. CdM

junior Danielle Carlson scored on an outside shot to gain the most out of

the player-advantage situation, which junior Brittney Bowlus (one goal)

drew the ejection. Carlson’s goal tied the game, 1-1, with 4:39 left in

the first period.

Santa Margarita came back, two minutes later when Erika Figge scored

after Kunkel’s four-meter penalty shot bounced off the crossbar.

Carlson, who had the difficult duty of guarding Kunkel, scored again

from about eight meters out after a pass from senior Alexa Miller to tie

it up again, 2-2, with 1:10 left in the first.

“(Kunkel is) a really good player,” said Carlson, who led the Sea

Kings with two goals and two steals. “It was more of a mental game

because you have to figure out what to do to stop her. It was really

tough and I had a hard time. The whole team was helping out. We did well

with team play through the three quarters. We definitely can play better.

We haven’t peaked yet. We had it for three quarters. We have to make sure

we don’t lose it.”

CdM trailed, 3-2, at halftime after a scoreless second quarter that

saw Kunkel score on a six-on-five 4:54 before the half. The Sea Kings

caught the Eagles again, 3-3, after junior Daniela DiGiacomo drew a

penalty and junior Christina Hewko made good on the four-meter shot. But

the Eagles went up for good one minute later after Nicole Loftus scored

just seconds after a player-advantage situation ended.

“We used a lot of energy on defense and that took away from our

offense,” Chaney said. “(The Sea Kings) were definitely ready to play.

They got a little tired. The girls have done real well. There are few

things that we do need to work on. I’m really pleased where we are right

now.”

NONLEAGUE

Santa Margarita 7, Corona del Mar 4

Santa Margarita 2 1 1 3 - 7

Corona del Mar 2 0 1 1 - 4

Santa Margarita - Kr. Kunkel 3, Figge 1, Loftus 1, Stachowski 1, Ka.

Kunkel 1. Saves - Yoder 8.

Corona del Mar - Carlson 2, Hewko 1, Bowlus 1. Saves - Wells 4.