CdM powers ahead

COMMERCE — At their tournaments this year, players on the Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo team have set goals.

At first, the goals were to finish in the top eight, or top 16. But once CdM made the semifinals, the goal became a No. 1 finish.

After the Sea Kings made it to the semifinals of the biggest tournament of all — the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs — senior Carissa Dice had no reservations about that goal.

Dice walked down the pool deck at the Commerce Aquatorium Friday, passing Coach Aaron Chaney on the way to the locker room. CdM had just played one of its best games of the season, a 12-7 road win over Montebello in a CIF Division I quarterfinal.

The Sea Kings have an often-casual relationship with their coach. And Dice, the senior, had one last parting comment for Chaney.

“Hey, Chaney,” Dice said, turning around. “So you know, we’re playing two more games next week instead of one more game.”

The implication was that No. 2-seeded CdM would make it to the CIF final. The Sea Kings (23-6) still have one game left to win before accomplishing that task, Wednesday’s Division I semifinal against Foothill at Irvine High.

The Knights beat Los Alamitos, 6-3, in another quarterfinal.

Still, the prediction was hard to dismiss after the Sea Kings defeated Montebello (16-12) impressively in a difficult playing environment. The Aquatorium is a somewhat dark and humid indoor pool.

“It’s a lot different being indoors,” said CdM junior Heather Van Hiel, who had a goal, four assists and two steals. “The lighting is different, the sounds are different, the smell is different. You just have to adapt to it.”

But, for senior Allison Peotter, the adjustment process was really short. Peotter scored a game-high five goals, three in the first quarter, when CdM jumped out to a 4-1 lead.

“That [fast start] was a big part of this game,” Peotter said. “Each team in CIF is like a new team. We have to act like we haven’t played them before. We can’t expect them to come out the same way in their home pool. So if they’re not going to be the same team, then we’re not going to be the same team either. That was our mind-set.

“And,” she added with a smile, “we knew we wanted to practice next week.”

Three of the Sea Kings’ first-quarter goals, including one by junior Elise Molnar on sophomore Margot Money’s assist, came on six-on-five opportunities. The trend continued throughout the game. The Sea Kings converted five of their eight power-play chances.

After Chaney heard that stat, he gave Peotter a high-five.

“I told the girls before the game that they had to be three goals better than Montebello,” Chaney said. “In somebody else’s home pool, you can’t just be as good. You have to be better.”

The Sea Kings, who have won 18 of their last 19 games, did play better. Montebello did draw 13 exclusions on CdM, however.

“I thought the game was called fair,” Chaney said. “I just wasn’t expecting it to be called that tight. They called ejections that I didn’t think were really ejections.”

But the Oilers could convert just three of those 13 power plays.

CdM junior goalie Kate Baldoni was kept busy but finished with 11 saves.

“We got good shots,” Montebello Coach David Keys said. “We just couldn’t get the ball in the goal. [Baldoni] had a lot of good blocks on us. You have to give credit where credit’s due, and they played really well on six-on-five defense.”

Montebello closed within 8-6 late in the third quarter, when Sarah Orozco scored from set on Nancy Ruano’s pass.

But CdM’s Leslee Kaczmarek answered with the final goal of the third quarter, beating a trio of defenders to score from set. Kaczmarek also tallied the first goal of the fourth, padding CdM’s lead to 10-6.

Kaczmarek and fellow junior Victoria Kennedy, CdM’s primary centers, combined for five goals.

Sophomore Tiffany Urrea netted a team-high three goals for Montebello.

CIF Southern Section Division I

Quarterfinal

Corona del Mar 12, Montebello 7

SCORE BY QUARTERS

CdM – Peotter 5, Kennedy 3, Kaczmarek 2, Van Hiel 1, Molnar 1. Saves – Baldoni 11.

M – Urrea 3, Cazares 1, De Leon 1, Ruano 1, L. Martinez 1. Saves – Connell 5.

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