Tars make a statement

Richard Dunn

While the Newport Harbor High girls water polo team tried to make

a statement before the game with a huge team banner hanging near the

pool entrance, the host Sailors made their best impression in the

water Friday as they defeated Long Beach Wilson, 11-5, in nonleague

action.

Newport Harbor (3-0), ranked second in Orange County, outscored

the Bruins, 4-0, in the first half and built a 5-0 lead early in the

third period, but Wilson came back with three goals to make it

interesting again.

Coach Bill Barnett’s Tars ended the third quarter on their

defining moment of the game, as senior sensation Annie Wight

retrieved a loose ball near the corner and passed to Jenna Murphy in

the middle. Murphy, a UCLA-bound senior, went high in the air and

beat two Wilson defenders to the ball, then in one motion fired a

strike past Wilson goalie Kendall Cheak (four saves) with 0:28

remaining, giving Newport Harbor a 6-3 lead by third quarter’s end.

Wilson Coach Tony Martinez, whose team fell to 6-2 and was never

closer than three goals in the fourth quarter, said he didn’t see the

10-foot by 7-foot Newport banner draped over a 20-foot wall with the

words “Game Day” and “Our House” when he entered the facility.

Wilson sophomore Lauren Silver, who scored two second-half goals,

did see it.

“We made our comments when we saw it, but obviously they showed it

in the pool,” Silver said. “We have something to work on for next

time.”

Newport and Wilson are not scheduled to play each other again in

nonleague action, but both schools are slated to compete in the Santa

Barbara and Irvine tournaments.

Murphy led Newport Harbor with four goals, while Wight and senior

Ashley Parole scored two each. Juniors Carolyn Conway and Jessica

Ball and sophomore star Anne Belden scored one goal each for the

winners.

“Defensively, I thought we were consistent and played well, except

for that one spurt (in the third quarter),” said Barnett, who added

that he would give his team a ‘B’ grade on defense.

“Annie Wight played tough, and she made a nice pass to Jenna on

that goal (to put the Sailors ahead, 6-3).”

Newport Harbor, which will play Back Bay rival Corona del Mar on

the road next Friday, scored in the game’s opening minute on Murphy’s

player-advantage goal. With 5:10 left in the first quarter, Belden

made a steal during a Wilson power play -- one of three Newport

steals in the opening period (along with Ball and Paige Lansing).

Wight scored a counterattack goal on a lob with 3:39 to play in

the first and Harbor ended the quarter with a 2-0 edge. Newport

goalie Terin Cottam recorded four of her six saves in the first

quarter.

Belden, a left-hander, scored an open-cage goal on a lob in

Newport’s first possession of the second quarter, and Parole scored a

counterattack goal on a lob with 4:11 on the clock as the Sailors

managed a 4-0 intermission lead.

Wight scored in the first 30 seconds of the second half on a

beautiful backhand shot from two meters, after taking a long pass

from Ball. But Wight and Newport two-meter set Raelyn Ritchie both

got into foul trouble and Wilson came back with three straight

third-quarter goals.

After Wilson cut Newport’s lead to 5-3, the Bruins thwarted a

Newport power play with 1:26 left in the third quarter, giving the

visitors more momentum.

“We lost the momentum,” Barnett said. “They came back with a

couple of goals and we couldn’t do much. (The game) was different

because we didn’t have very many counterattacks.”

Murphy, however, scored on a spectacular play on a Wight pass in

the waning seconds of the third quarter and the Sailors never looked

back.

Ball and Parole scored early fourth-quarter goals, then Wilson

pulled to within 8-5 with 3:18 remaining. Murphy scored after a steal

and pass by Ball with 2:52 left and added a power-play goal on a

quick pass from Wight with 2:17 to play. Conway capped the scoring

with a player-advantage goal in the closing seconds.

In the frosh-soph game, Newport beat Wilson, 19-2, as Amanda Barto

(four goals), Cali Manderino (three) and Jesse Womble (three) led the

way. Newport goalie Kendall Nelson had five saves.

In another game Friday:

Lightning wins, 8-5

Hayden Hutchinson scored three goals to lead the Sage Hill High

girls water polo team to an 8-5 nonleague win over Webb Friday night

at Corona del Mar High’s pool.

Nonleague

Newport 11, LB Wilson 5

Score by Quarters

Wilson 0 0 3

2 - 5

Newport 2 2 2

5 -- 11

Wilson --Al. Lamb 2, Silver 2, Gentner 1. Saves -- Cheak

4.

Newport -- Murphy 4, Wight 2, Parole 2, Ball 1, Belden

1, Conway 1. Saves -- Cottam 6.

Nonleague

Sage Hill 8, Webb 5

Score by Quarters

Webb 1 2 0

2 -- 5

Sage Hill 2 1 2

3 -- 8