Sailors eliminated, 8-6

Roger Carlson

TUSTIN - Newport Harbor High’s underdog girls water polo team made

it interesting in the Sailors’ CIF Southern Section Division I Playoffs

semifinals encounter with No. 2-seeded Foothill Wednesday at Tustin High,

and that in itself was an accomplishment not to be dismissed lightly.

Although Coach Bill Barnett’s Sailors absorbed an 8-6 season-ending

loss to the talented Lady Knights (25-2), they held their own despite

Foothill’s defensive grip, which led the winners to Saturday’s finals at

Belmont Plaza against Santa Margarita.

“Speed kills and it killed us a couple of times today,” said Barnett.

“(Foothill) just did a good job fronting the 2-meter.

“We knew we had to get the ball in the strike zone, but doing it was

very difficult. We just didn’t get there enough.”

The Sailors missed five times when a player-up, and never did

establish a role in the hole offensively before a standing-room-only

crowd of some 400.Foothill made a good run in the second quarter with

three straight goals to grab a 6-2 lead, but Harbor answered in the third

quarter with a three-goal spurt to cut the deficit to 6-5 with 3:17 left

in the period.

Katherine Belden’s penalty shot, when Annie Wight was fouled, Jenna

Murphy’s shot from her perch in the corner with Foothill down a player,

and Wight’s bullet from outside just after yet another of Leah Grocki’s

strong saves in the net, provided the Sailors their “hat trick” and the

impending possibilities.

Moments later Grocki made another big save and the Sailors were in

control, but it was shortlived.

Foothill got the second of two breaks when a shot bounced hard off the

cage, directly back to a surprised Jillian Kraus, and she sent the ball

in from two meters to give Foothill a 7-5 lead.

The Sailors misfired on four straight from the field in the fourth

quarter against Foothill’s no-bend defense, and Breanna Allison scored

her second goal with 4:13 left with a wide-open shot from two meters to

give Foothill an insurmountable 8-5 lead.

Foothill’s first break came in the first period when with what

appeared to be expired time on the shot clock, but without a buzzer

because of a malfunction, the Lady Knights shot and missed, rebounded and

missed, and rebounded and scored. It was but one of four goals for Gabbie

Dominick.

Barnett never did understand the non-call, but quickly added, “That’s

not what beat us.”

The Sailors’ quality balance was once again evident with Murphy and

Wight scoring twice, and Belden and Jessica Ball one apiece.

Grocki had eight saves, two of which deserved to be counted twice

considering the degree of difficulty, and Katie Erickson, Paige Lansing,

Ashley Parole, Amber Braly and Raelyn Ritchie all distinguished

themselves with championship efforts.

It was the third time the Sailors had met Foothill this season and for

the first time, Barnett was able to look back at the game and say, “It

was a very good effort.”

It was the final game for five seniors, UCLA-bound Belden, Grocki,

Braly, and reserves Nicky Probert and Amanda Moss, but there is a bundle

coming back for next year.

Next year? That’s when the defending Sea View League champion Sailors

(23-7) welcome Foothill to the league.

“Yeah, and Footill has everybody back,” said Barnett. “It should be

interesting.”

CIF DIVISION I

Semifinal

Foothill 8, Newport Harbor 6

Newport Harbor 1 1 3 1 - 6 Foothill 2 4 1 1 - 8

Newport Harbor - Murphy 2, Wight 2, Ball 1, Belden 1. Saves - Grocki

8.

Foothill - Dominick 4, Allison 2, Hayes 1, Kraus 1. Saves - Feher 2.