Lightning score early, put coach at ease

COSTA MESA — Sage Hill School girls’ water polo coach Tom Norton had seen enough.

Norton exited Wednesday’s Orange Coast League game at Estancia midway through the fourth quarter. But he wasn’t kicked out of the game, or even frustrated. Norton simply had to go, because the other girls’ water polo team he coaches, University High, had a Pacific Coast League game at Corona del Mar that was about to start.

The Lightning already had made Norton feel quite comfortable about their result, building a large lead and hanging on for a 12-10 victory over Estancia.

Sage Hill (8-4, 1-1 in league) would have been virtually eliminated from a chance at second place in league — and the CIF Southern Section Division II playoff spot that goes with it — with a loss. But the Lightning started strong, even after Estancia freshman Haley Kunert scored the game’s first goal just over a minute in on a pass from her sister, Meagan Kunert, a senior.

Lightning junior Dylan Conroy scored a six-on-five goal, then senior Sarah Wesley’s shot from near mid-pool caromed off the bar and went in. Junior Cameron Cline then beat a double team to score at two meters, and the Lightning had a 3-1 lead after a quarter.

Sage Hill went on to score four unanswered goals in the second quarter, for a 7-1 halftime advantage over the Eagles (10-6, 0-2).

“We practiced our drop defense, and I think in the first half we ran it really well,” said Wesley, who finished with four goals, three assists and two steals. “In the second half, they kind of figured it out, and that speaks well of [Estancia’s] offense. I’m just glad that we did well enough in the first half so that we held through the end.”

The Eagles mounted a rally in the second half, although they were still down, 10-5, after three quarters. But after Meagan Kunert won the fourth-quarter sprint, Haley Kunert, who had game-highs of five goals and four steals, scored after an aggressive drive to the goal.

Haley Kunert then scored from set with 5:50 left on a six-on-five, trimming the Lightning lead to 10-7.

“They just took a while to get going and get into it, get their groove,” Estancia Coach Jennifer Perry said. “But I’m really happy with how they played in the second half. If they would have played the whole game like they played the second half, I’d be more happy. We’ll be having some extended practices.”

Estancia drew within three goals again when Meagan Kunert scored on a counterattack with 2:39 left, but a subsequent Eagles shot ricocheted off the bar and went out. Wesley then scored from near mid-pool again after an Estancia foul, helping Sage Hill to a 12-8 lead with just 1:45 to go.

Sage Hill has been playing with just one substitute all season, which has led to game cancellations and forfeits at times. But the Lightning have persevered, Conroy said, and knew the game against Estancia was important.

“We tried playing on our strengths,” said Conroy, who scored four goals and added two steals. “Cameron, she’s really strong in set. And, when they were dropping back, we were good with our outside shooters. It was important to play our strengths this game.”

Conroy scored all three of Sage Hill’s goals on the six-on-five, all of them from the left side into the near corner.

“I’m in the pocket, or Cameron’s in the middle ready to shoot,” Conroy said. “That just naturally works the best. Sarah can pass [from the right] to either me or Cameron, and it’s really hard for the goalie to shift all the way across the cage.”

Junior Jordan Smith-Newman recorded 11 saves for Sage Hill, while junior Emily Kaplan had seven for Estancia.

For the league’s second playoff berth, Estancia must first win at cross-town rival Costa Mesa Wednesday in both teams’ league finale, which would make both teams 1-2 in league. The Eagles must then hope their goal differential is favorable to win a tiebreaker against the Mustangs and Sage Hill, which is 1-1 in league but would need a huge upset to beat Laguna Beach next week.

“We need to improve on not rushing and not panicking,” Meagan Kunert said. “We need to make sure that we’re ready to play right away when we start the game.”

Orange Coast League

Sage Hill 12, Estancia 10

SCORE BY QUARTERS

SH – Conroy 4, Wesley 4, Cline 3, Benner 1. Saves – Smith-Newman 11.

Est – H. Kunert 5, M. Kunert 4, Peters 1. Saves – Kaplan 7.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.