Laguna girls finish in seventh

The Laguna Beach Water Polo girls’ 14-and-Under team met the expectations that Coach Chad Beeler had set prior to entering the Junior Olympics.

A young Laguna squad posted a record of 5-2-1 at the national tournament, good for a seventh-place finish.

The four-day tournament, which concluded Sunday, was played in Thousand Oaks.

“The girls had done a great job,” Beeler said. “They were able to place in the top 10, which is what my goal was, considering how young these girls are.

“They were able to come in seventh place and next year, I will have eight returning players come back to do even better, with more experience under their belts.”

Laguna 22, Stanford B 2

Laguna couldn’t have opened the tournament on a better note, as it blew out Stanford B on Aug. 3. Melina Masson led the scoring barrage with six goals, followed by Jessi Holechek with four.

Jessica Shusko and Lauren Hampton each scored three goals, Yoshi Andersen and Candyce Schroeder each scored twice and Kaitlyn Waidley and Edy Manetta also posted goals.

The one-sided loss was a sign of things to come for Stanford B, which went on to finish last in the tournament.

Laguna 4, Los Alamitos 4

In the second game it played on Aug. 3, Laguna took an early lead but Los Alamitos rallied for a tie.

Goals by Candyce Schroeder and Yoshi Andersen led to a 2-0 lead for Laguna. Los Alamitos scored the final two goals of the first half to make it a 2-2 game at the break, but Laguna was able to get back into the lead early in the third quarter when Jessi Holechek scored from five meters.

Los Alamitos tied the game two minutes after Holechek’s had scored, but Laguna managed to go back in front after Schroeder scored late in the third. That one-goal lead lasted a short while, as Los Alamitos rallied again to tie the score early in the fourth quarter.

Los Alamitos also had defeated Stanford B, but by a 22-0 margin, compared to Laguna’s 22-2 win over Stanford B, and took the No. 1 seed.

Laguna 9, San Diego Stars 2

In a match played Aug. 4, Laguna pulled away in the third quarter in defeating the San Diego Stars.

Melina Masson scored Laguna’s first goal to make it a 1-0 game. After the Stars tied the score late in the first quarter, Jessica Shusko drew a kick-out in the second quarter and went on to score with the extra-player advantage.

The Stars fought back to tie the score at 2, but goals by Jessi Holechek and Yoshi Andersen, about 30 seconds apart, allowed Laguna to take a 4-2 lead at the break.

In the third quarter, Shusko drew another kick-out and again went on to score in the man-up situation for Laguna. Waidley then found Masson open in front of the goal for another score and Shusko then created a five-meter chance that Masson was able to bury into the net for a 7-2 lead.

Waidley later scored and also assisted on the final goal of the match, which was scored by Candyce Schroeder.

Socal 8, Laguna 4

Socal, one of the top-seeded teams in the tournament, pulled away in the fourth quarter and went on to hand Laguna its first loss Aug. 4.

A goal by Riley Duncan pulled Laguna into a 1-1 tie in the first quarter and the score remained that way heading into the second quarter after Laguna survived two kick-outs and Edy Manetta made a few saves.

Socal again went into the lead when it scored after Laguna was whistled for a five-meter infraction. But with just 10 seconds left in the first half, Jessica Shusko fed Melina Masson in the hole and Masson scored to make it a 2-2 game at the half.

In the third quarter, Laguna took its only lead when Yoshi Andersen tossed in a lob shot with the shot clock winding down to give Laguna a 3-2 advantage. Socal, though, scored the final two goals of the quarter — the second after Laguna was called for another kick-out — to take a 4-3 lead.

Socal used effective ball movement in the fourth quarter to take control, scoring twice within the first minute of the quarter. Shusko and Masson again teamed up, with Masson setting up a goal by Shusko, as Laguna trimmed the deficit to 6-4 with just under three minutes to play. At the 1:30 mark, as Laguna was breaking on a counterattack, Socal stripped the ball, leading to an easy goal. Socal scored its final goal in the final minute, as Laguna was sent to the loser’s bracket.

Laguna 5, American River 2

Needing a victory to stay in medal contention, Laguna responded by leading from start to finish against American River.

A goal by Jessi Holechek in the first quarter and one by Yoshi Andersen in the second gave Laguna a 2-0 lead. With under a minute left in the first half, American River got on the scoreboard to make it 2-1. But with 16 seconds left, Jessica Shusko drew a kick-out and Riley Duncan scored, as Laguna took a two-goal cushion at the half.

American River pulled to within 3-2 after scoring the first goal of the second half, but goals by Melina Masson and Holechek, allowed Laguna to pull away.

Edy Manetta also made a key steal to thwart a comeback by American River.

Laguna 4, Lamorinda 2

Facing another must-win situation, two goals by Yoshi Andersen and one each from Melina Masson and Jessica Shusko enabled Laguna to move on from this 8 a.m. morning call Saturday.

Los Alamitos 8, Laguna 4

Laguna fell behind, 5-2, at the half, and couldn’t recover.

Los Alamitos took a 2-0 lead before Laguna managed a goal by Jessi Holechek. Later in the second quarter, Shusko scored again to pull Laguna within 3-2 in the final minute of the half. But Los Alamitos wasn’t through scoring, as two goals in the final minute pushed the advantage to 5-2 at the break.

In the third quarter, Laguna could not take advantage of a kick-out situation to ignite a comeback, and a strip of the ball by the Los Alamitos defense led to a goal and a 6-2 lead. The lead grew to 8-2 in the early stages of the fourth quarter.

Jessica Shusko and Kaitlyn Waidley scored the final two goals of the match for Laguna, which was sent to the seventh-place game against Socal.

Laguna 11, Socal 10

Laguna avenged an earlier loss to Socal by surviving a tight match that was decided in a golden goal shootout on Sunday.

After falling behind, 2-0, Jessi Holechek scored twice to tie the score. A goal by Hannah Lawson gave Laguna its first lead, 3-2, as the first quarter ended. Socal responded by scoring the first two goals of the second quarter to take the lead, but Lauren Hampton scored the equalizer with only 12 seconds left in the first half to pull Laguna into a 4-4 tie.

Yoshi Andersen gave Laguna a brief lead in the second half, but the teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 5. Candyce Schroeder scored in the first minute of the final quarter to give Laguna a 6-5 lead, but Socal scored three straight goals, the final coming with two minutes to play in regulation to go up, 8-6.

Laguna rose to the two-goal challenge, as Holechek scored to narrow the deficit to 8-7. With 36 seconds left, the Laguna defense stiffened and drew a kick-out. Following a timeout that was used to set up a play, Laguna was unable to get a strong shot off, but Jessica Shusko charged the front of the net and managed to strip the ball from the Socal keeper and push it across the goal line to tie the score with 19 seconds remaining.

In the shootout period, Holechek and Melina Masson, Laguna’s first two shooters, scored goals, while Socal managed one goal in its first two attempts. Laguna’s final three shooters, however, failed to score, and Socal connected on its final shot, to send the match into a golden goal shootout.

In the golden session, Manetta went to her right to stop a low shot, which gave Holechek a crack at the game-winning shot. Holechek connected on her attempt to give Laguna the win and a seventh-place standing.

Medal matches

In the division’s Gold medal match, Santa Barbara defeated Diablo, 6-5. Los Angeles Water Polo Club beat Chino Hills, 8-5, in the third-place game.

Los Alamitos finished fifth and Newport Beach was sixth.