Newport defends Back Bay

Chris Yemma

Friday’s girls water polo match between Corona del Mar High and

Newport Harbor was more than just another Battle of the Bay matchup.

It was a battle of the unbeatens, with Newport holding a 3-0

record and CdM entering 2-0. It couldn’t have been more fitting that

either team’s first loss would be to their biggest rival.

But it was the three-time defending CIF Southern Section champions

who came up one goal short, as Newport Harbor (4-0) held on in the

final seconds to capture the 6-5 victory in the rival’s backyard.

“It was a great win,” Newport Coach Bill Barnett said. “Every

time we play [the Sea Kings] here or at home, it’s always a one-goal

game at this time of year.”

The Sea Kings (2-1), who won the last two CIF Division II titles

and the Division IV crown three years ago, had a chance with 57

seconds left to score the tying goal, and one more opportunity with

five seconds left, but the Sailors’ pressure prevailed to clinch the

win.

After CdM goalie Brittany Fullen blocked a point-blank shot by

Newport’s Laurel Laidlaw -- a ball Laidlaw rebounded and fired after

Anne Belden’s shot hit the post -- CdM had its most legitimate chance

to tie the game with 57 seconds left after a Newport timeout.

But constant pressure led the Sea Kings to toss an errant pass

that Newport goalie Elizabeth Layton grabbed.

“Our defense did an exceptional job,” Barnett said. “That was the

key to this game.”

And the last CdM shot with less than five seconds remaining was

merely a Hail Mary for sophomore Katie Indvik.

“This is the biggest game so far against the best team we’ve

played,” Barnett said.

The first 2 1/2 quarters were neck and neck, as both teams kept

trading goals. But midway through the third quarter, Newport was the

first to go up by two goals and added a third straight to take a 5-2

lead.

After a CdM miss in the third, Newport’s Belden tossed the ball

nearly the length of the pool and hit a streaking Ashling Taylor, who

lobbed it over Fullen for the goal and the first two-goal lead of the

game.

Taylor finished with three goals, tying CdM’s Ashley Chandler for

the game high.

“Since this was my senior year, it felt so good to beat them,”

Taylor said. “We beat them last year, but lost to them the year

before, so this is really nice.”

Junior Camille Hewko marked the other two goals for the Sea Kings,

while Fullen had 14 saves to keep CdM within reach as the game

progressed.

But for the Sea Kings and their coach Aaron Chaney, it was a game

where they felt the pressure.

“We couldn’t make any passes the whole game and we couldn’t handle

the pressure of their defense,” Chaney said.

*--*

Nonleague

Newport Harbor 6, Corona del Mar 5

Score by Quarters

Newport 1 1 3 1 -- 6

CdM 1 0 2 2 -- 5

Newport -- Taylor 3, Belden 1, Lucas 1, Robertson

1. Saves -- Nelson 3, Layton 4. CdM -- Chandler 3,

Hewko 2. Saves -- Fullen 14.

*--*