A quick recovery for CdM

SANTA BARBARA — The situation looked bleak for the Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo team.

They had battled into overtime against Foothill, ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division I, in a Tournament of Champions semifinal Saturday at Santa Barbara High.

But now, the Sea Kings were down a goal with just 16 seconds to go, and the Knights had the ball.

It didn’t matter. Looking in the Sea Kings’ eyes, they weren’t ready to give up. They had played too well to get to that point.

“They played without fear today, none whatsoever,” Corona del Mar Coach Aaron Chaney said. “You could see it in their eyes; they were confident in shooting the ball. That was great.”

Corona del Mar’s Haley Prickett scored with one second left in the second of two overtimes, stunning Foothill and sending the game into sudden death. And, though Foothill eventually won the game in sudden death, 8-7, and the championship over Newport Harbor, the Sea Kings hopped back on Highway 101 and headed south with their heads high.

Corona del Mar (13-4) rebounded to take the third-place game, 6-4, over Montebello.

“It was probably one of the hardest games we’ve played together,” said Cari Levine, who assisted Prickett’s game-tying goal, of the semifinal against Foothill. “It just showed that our team will not give up, no matter what. We outplayed them in my opinion.”

The final sequence of events in the second overtime was stunning. After Foothill called a timeout with 16 seconds left — narrowly avoiding a stalling call as goalie Amber Oland held the ball for 19 seconds — Chaney knew his team had to foul.

Senior Katie Indvik, who made the all-tournament team, fouled Foothill’s Emily Klug three times. The second time earned an ejection, and the third time a penalty shot for Klug — exactly what the Corona del Mar coach wanted.

Klug’s shot went off the right bar, giving CdM the ball back with nine seconds left as Chaney, an experienced referee, got away with one.

“It’s a new rule this year,” he said. “The coach can elect to take a penalty shot, or elect to have possession of the ball. The referee and the Foothill coach didn’t know that.”

With just over a single second left, Levine, an all-tournament team selection, earned a foul and a free throw, whipping a short pass to Prickett, who found the right corner of the net to knot the score at 7-all.

“Honestly, I didn’t even see the goal,” Prickett said. “I just threw it up and it went in.”

But Foothill’s Noel Umprhrey won the sudden-death overtime sprint, and Klug scored with 2:12 to go to end the game after the Knights drew a controversial ejection.

Corona del Mar never had possession in sudden death, a fact that didn’t sit well with Chaney.

“If the game goes to sudden death, both teams should have a chance to touch the ball,” he said. “This isn’t football. You shouldn’t call an ejection in sudden death unless its clear to everybody. It wasn’t clearly the right call to me.”

Still, it was undeniable that the Sea Kings had put a scare into the Knights, playing with much more confidence than in a 4-2 loss to Foothill at Corona del Mar on Jan. 6.

“Obviously, we wanted to win,” said Prickett, a senior. “It was our last tournament as seniors going on a trip and being together. But I think we’ll learn from this and come back and beat Foothill next time we play them.”

Heather Van Hiel had three steals against Foothill and Leilani Livingston and Paige O’Brien recorded two each.

Coming back Saturday afternoon in the TOC third-place game, Corona del Mar started a bit sluggish and was tied, 2-all, after the first quarter.

But Chaney said an incentive he gave out — no practice on Monday with a win in the third-place game — may have helped. Plus, pride was on the line.

“Chaney told us, ‘It’s not how hard you hit, it’s how hard you take one,’” Prickett said. “After losing to Foothill, we wanted to go out there and get it back.”

Livingston skipped in a goal from five meters to give CdM a 3-2 halftime lead, and Sarah Hutchison scored another go-ahead goal with 1:09 left in the third for a 4-3 advantage that the Sea Kings never relinquished.

Indvik scored two goals in the Montebello game, and Van Hiel had two assists and three steals.

Tournament of ChampionsThird-place game

Corona del Mar 6, Montebello 4

Score by Quarters

Corona del Mar

2

1

1

2

—

6

Montebello

2

0

1

1

—

4

Corona del Mar -- Indvik 2, Levine 1, Livingston 1, Hutchison 1, Prickett 1. Saves -- Murphy 7.

Montebello -- P. Orozco 2, Ruano 1, Romero 1. Saves -- Connell 3.

Semifinal

Foothill 8,

Corona del Mar 7 (sudden death)

Score by Periods

CdM

0

3

1

1

0

2

0

—

7

Foothill

2

0

1

2

1

1

1

—

8

Corona del Mar -- Indvik 2, Prickett 2, Levine 1, Livingston 1, Harkins 1.

Saves -- Murphy 10.

Foothill -- Klug 3, Kutcher 2, Umphrey 1, Zwirner 1, McLain 1. Saves -- Oland 12.