Mustangs ready for seconds

Costa Mesa rolls past Orange to claim runner-up spot in Golden West League and a potentially better seeding for the CIF Southern Section playoffs.COSTA MESA -- In the end, there wasn’t a lot at stake for Costa Mesa or Orange in their girls’ water polo match Friday. But there was enough for the Mustangs.

Costa Mesa closed out the regular season with a 9-1 rout of the Panthers in a Golden West League match Friday afternoon. The victory clinched second place for Costa Mesa (14-14, 4-2 in league) and dropped the defending league champion Panthers into fourth, though still eligible for the postseason.

With playoff spots already in hand for both teams, the focus was on getting a better seeding for the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs, which begin next week. From that standpoint, the Mustangs clearly wanted it more.

The seniors have been to CIF the last three years,” Costa Mesa Coach Tim Postiff said. “They know what it’s like to be a situation where you have to win. I think they were more excited to know they were in charge of their own destiny.”

After a sluggish start for both teams, Costa Mesa struck quickly with a pair of goals on the counterattack. Thalia De La Torre scored first with 3:26 remaining in the first period, executing a spin move at two meters and beating Orange goalkeeper Alison Johnson to the left. Patricia Marty added another goal at the 1:53 mark on a fast break.

Chandra Malapira made a three-goal lead for the Mustangs early in the second quarter, just beating the shot clock. With that, the home team clamped down on defense, holding Orange to just one shot on goal in the second period.

Costa Mesa goalie Brittany Mucha was particularly savvy in the second half, making saves on some close shots by the Panthers -- including a point blank attempt by Orange’s Tiffany Paredes late in the third period. Mucha finished with eight saves in the match.

The Mustangs increased their lead in the third quarter, scoring on three of four man-advantage situations, including two by Annie Le. With the game well in hand, they added three more goals in the final period.

Orange’s Megan Gardner spoiled the potential shutout, scoring a goal with 5:23 remaining in the game.

“We just wanted to execute on offense, which we did in the first quarter and a half,” Postiff said. “After that, we just played tough defense. We didn’t allow them a lot of shots and the shots they got off, our goalie made some great saves on them.”

After the match, Orange Coach Jennifer Visconti shrugged off her team’s performance.

“Our first goal was to get into CIF, which we did,” Visconti said. “Second was to win the game. We’d rather lose today than next week.

“Today, they deserved to win the game.”

Le led the Mustangs with two goals and two steals. Malapira added two goals and Sabina Wee recorded four steals.

Golden West League

Costa Mesa 9, Orange 1

Score by Quarters