Sailors play six on two ... that’s 6-2!

Roger Carlson

CORONA DEL MAR - Playing a game of six on two with a rock in the

cage and adhering to their coach’s advice to “One, come to play, and two,

good defense,” Newport Harbor High’s girls water polo team sent a solid

team from San Clemente home with a 6-2 defeat in the CIF Division I

Playoffs Saturday morning at Corona del Mar High.

Sailors Coach Bill Barnett was pleased with the effort, said all of

his girls played well and singled out senior Katherine Belden for her

defense in particular, against San Clemente’s imposing Christina Kuno,

who was held scoreless after opening the game with a penalty shot in the

first quarter to give the Tritons a 1-0 lead.

It would be the last you would hear from her, or for that matter, most

everyone else from San Clemente as the Sailors, whether playing straight

up or a player down, applied the pressure of a tourniquet to suffocate

San Clemente.

“We saw from game film (Kuno) and (Thom) were the real powerhouses of

their offense,” said Barnett, “Katherine just did a great job on (Kuno).

The defensive play of Belden, surrounded by the exploits of teammates

Paige Lansing, Jenna Murphy, Jessica Ball, Annie Wight and anchored by

goalie Leah Grocki, was decisive.

After the penalty shot by Kuno the Tritons misfired on 19 of their

remaining 20 shots, nine of those courtesy of Grocki in the goal.

As a result the Sailors(23-6) move into Wednesday’s semifinals when

the No. 3-seeded Tars duel against an old nemesis, second-seeded Foothill

(24-2) at a site to be determined by coinflip.

Wight got the Sailors even, and ahead for good, with back-to-back

goals in the first period, the first off an assist from Ball, and then a

floater from 12 feet out to the left corner which evaded the Tritons’

goalie.

Ball followed up with two goals in the second period, the first off a

cross from Murphy, the second the picture-play of the game with a

back-handed move from the inside, leaving an aggressive defender grasping

air.

Raelyn Ritchie popped from inside off a rebound with 5:43 left in the

third quarter to give the Sea View League champions a 5-2 cushion, and as

San Clemente continued its game of frustration the die was cast.

Ball added her third goal with 2:44 left with a point-blank shot for

the exclamation mark.

CIF DIVISION I PLAYOFFS

Quarterfinal

Newport Harbor 6, San Clemente 2

San Clemente 1 0 1 0 - 2

Newport Harbor 2 2 1 1 - 6

San Clemente - Kuno 1, Sample 1. Saves - Peter Newport Harbor - Ball 3, Wight 2, Ritchie 1. Saves - Grocki 9.