Second-half surge sparks the Sea Kings

cdmpoloCorona del Mar overcomes slow start to defeat Santa Margarita for second consecutive weekend.CORONA DEL MAR -- When you’re as good as the Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo team, winning becomes a habit. But it’s not always easy.

The Sea Kings, playing Santa Margarita (ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division I) for the second straight week, started slow, then turned on the afterburners in the second half en route to a 4-2 nonleague victory on Saturday.

Last weekend, the Sea Kings -- ranked No. 1 in Division II -- got off to a 5-0 start against Santa Margarita in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions semifinals on the way to a 7-2 win.

Saturday, the Eagles came out fired up and took a 1-0 lead in the first quarter after Darby Anderson’s counterattack goal.

“We got off to a slow start, but they were countering us and playing hard,” Corona del Mar Coach Aaron Chaney said. “They really wanted to beat us. In Santa Barbara, we jumped on them early and led 5-0, then 7-1 at one point. They didn’t want to give us a chance to get up on them early again.”

The Sea Kings found themselves trailing, 2-1, after Anderson’s second goal of the game off a breakaway. Then Corona del Mar netted three unanswered goals, starting with junior Cari Levine’s power play goal with 4:13 left in the third quarter. Levine came in on the goal from up top. When she didn’t draw a defender, she inched closer before letting her shot go and tied the score, 2-2.

Less than two minutes later, Indvik unleashed a long shot to beat the shot clock and found the back of the net to give the Sea Kings a 3-2 lead.

Corona del Mar, in control now, added an insurance goal when Sarah Hutchison and Ashley Chandler worked the ball around to Taylor Harkins, who scored from a sharp angle midway through the fourth quarter to take the wind out of the Eagles’ sails.

“In the second half, our defense started dropping off their shooters -- they were not shooting well -- then we doubled Darby Anderson, who is one of the best players in Orange County,” Chaney said.

When the Sea Kings were struggling offensively in the first half, their defense put the clamps on the Eagles. Chandler, Hutchison and Levine led a stellar defensive effort and goalkeeper Tumua Anae came up with big saves at opportune times.

Things were going so bad offensively in the first half for the Sea Kings that even when they were awarded a four-meter penalty shot, Indvik’s toss was pinned against the post by Santa Margarita goalkeeper Stephanie Peckham.

Corona del Mar (13-2) held Santa Margarita scoreless on five power play opportunities. The Sea Kings were 2 of 3 on the power play.

“Before the game, we talked about 6-on-5 and 5-on-6 situations being one of the keys,” Chaney said. “I actually thought the game would be called a little closer, but there wasn’t many ejections called.”

Corona del Mar resumes Pacific Coast League action on Wednesday when it travels to University. The Sea Kings are 2-0 in league play.

Nonleague

Corona del Mar 4,

Santa Margarita 2

Score by Quarters