Rough first quarter leaves CdM in catch-up mode

CORONA DEL MAR — As the seconds ticked away, Corona del Mar High actually hoped for a sudden death. But the Sea Kings got a slow one, as their offense couldn’t come alive.

With four seconds left in the second of two overtime periods, a CdM shot went wide right and high. That attempt was just another missed opportunity for the CdM girls’ water polo team, which could not overcome a rough first quarter and lost, 6-5, to visiting Montebello in overtime Saturday.

CdM (14-5) entered ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division I and held another advantage as it defeated Montebello, 6-4, for third-place in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions last week.

But, in a nonleague matchup of highly ranked teams, it was the rarest of heroes who came through for the No. 4 Oilers (14-4). Seldom-used Danika DeLeon scored from about eight meters out with 1:59 left in the second overtime and with just two seconds remaining on the shot clock. DeLeon, a junior who usually plays on the junior varsity, called it her best goal of the season.

Montebello Coach Kenny Clements said he never put her in games against top-ranked Foothill or No. 3-ranked Newport Harbor, or against CdM last week. But he put her in Saturday with the hopes she would step up and help the Oilers make a statement. However, Clements said it’s still the regular season and there’s not really any room for statement-making opportunities with such a competitive field.

“[This win is] not that big of a deal because we know we are better [than how we played last week],” Clements said. “If you’re know you’re better and you win, it’s like, OK.

“When we played them in Santa Barbara, I think we could have beat them had we known the game time. [The tournament staff] didn’t tell me the time change. We thought we were playing at 3, but it was at 2. We just ate, stuffed our faces at Fatburger. We lost in a game we could have won.”

The Sea Kings must’ve felt they could have won Saturday. They certainly had a great chance with 10 seconds left in regulation, when CdM senior Sarah Hutchison drew a foul. But CdM Coach Aaron Chaney said no one reacted quickly enough for Hutchison and he had to call a timeout to set up a play for the six-on-five chance. A Sea Kings’ shot to beat the buzzer went over the cage, leading to overtime.

“We lost the game in the first quarter,” Chaney said. “We just came out slow. The girls know we need to come out strong in the first quarter. I felt like we were always a little behind.”

The Sea Kings, who never led, were outscored, 3-1, in the first quarter. They tied Montebello at 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5, but could never gain control. A lack of execution on six-on-five opportunities didn’t help their cause.

CdM went two for seven on power plays, failing to connect on its final four tries.

Also, the Sea Kings could never draw a third foul from Priscilla Orozco, who scored three goals and appeared to be the Oilers’ best player. A third foul would have ejected her from the game.

Orozco, who scored twice in the fourth period, picked up her second foul with just over four minutes left in the third period.

“We were prepared and ready to go. I don’t know what happened,” said Katie Indvik, who scored two goals. “That first quarter really brought us down.”

Haley Prickett also scored two goals for the Sea Kings and Cari Levine’s lone goal came with 2:14 left in regulation to make it, 5-5.

CdM senior goalie Kate Murphy recorded seven saves.

“We’ll work it out,” Chaney said. “I don’t have any really big concerns. We played fine. We had our opportunities.”

Corona del Mar just might meet Montebello again in the Irvine Southern California Championships, a 32-team tournament that starts Thursday and ends Saturday.

Until then, the CIF Division I rankings are sure to show changes on Monday. Santa Margarita, ranked No. 8, defeated No. 3-ranked Newport Harbor, 5-3, on Friday.

“Any of those top four teams can beat each other,” Clements said. “So, you’re bummed if you lose, but you’re not that excited if you win because you know if you played them next week they might beat you. We just happened to come out strong.”

NonleagueMontebello 6,

Corona del Mar 5 (OT)

Score by Periods

Montebello

3

0

0

2

0

1

—

6

CdM

1

1

1

2

0

0

—

5

Montebello -- P. Orozco 3, Ruvalcaba 1, Romero 1, DeLeon 1. Saves -- Connell 5.

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