Mustangs pay Price

COSTA MESA — In a high-scoring affair at Costa Mesa High, the 63 seconds left in the tied girls’ water polo match proved to be plenty of time for more action.

At this point, Costa Mesa and Western combined for 20 goals.

Six belonged to Western senior Gwen Price.

Coach Don Luethke called a timeout for Western. During the break, he drew up an offensive play for Price.

When action resumed, the strategy didn’t necessarily start the way Luethke envisioned it.

But Price still made the Mustangs pay the price Thursday.

Price scored the game-winning goal with 47 seconds left, lifting Western to an 11-10 nonleague victory.

Price finished with seven goals. The last one caused Western (9-3) to celebrate and a firestorm on the Costa Mesa side.

During a timeout after the goal, assistant coach Justin Taylor walked over to one of the officials. He contested the goal.

Taylor not only saw the goal cost the Mustangs (11-7) a victory over the No. 3-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Division VII coaches’ poll, but it eventually led to his dismissal.

An official tossed Taylor for arguing.

Taylor disputed that Price was fouled inside the five-meter area, making her quick shot afterward illegal.

“If they fouled her outside the five [meter area], she can shoot that free pass,” Luethke said. “That wasn’t really what we played for, but that was the position she was put in.

“She’s the team captain, the senior, and led the group the whole way, no real mystery that she scores a lot of goals for us.”

To Costa Mesa, Price was sort of an unknown.

When asked whether the Mustangs knew coming into Thursday that Price was the Pioneers’ top player, Briana Williams said, “not really.”

The Mustangs got to know Price really well in the second half.

Costa Mesa led, 6-5, at halftime. Senior Ashley Rendon, with 5:32 left in the third period, extended the Mustangs’ advantage to two goals with one of her five goals in the match.

This is when Price turned it on. She recorded three goals during the Pioneers’ 4-1 run in the third, giving Western a 9-7 lead.

“I just felt that we didn’t play well in certain situations,” Costa Mesa Coach Tim Postiff said. “On our six-on-five [power-play advantages] we could not convert. They were just rushing their shots. I think we were [zero] for five.

“We made some mistakes defensively that allowed them to get some easy goals.”

Costa Mesa battled back with Rendon leading the way.

To start the fourth, Rendon converted a five-meter penalty shot and 23 seconds later scored again from close range to even the match at 9-9.

Midway through the period, Williams gave the Mustangs the lead on her second goal of the day. Two minutes later, Western tied it at 10-10 on a lob by Alexa Fournier.

The Pioneers came up with a turnover late, setting up Price’s game-winning goal.

With 13 seconds remaining, Costa Mesa still had a chance to send the match into overtime. The offense struggled getting the ball to Rendon down low, forcing Hannah Speer at the buzzer to take a long shot from atop.

Guess who stopped it?

Price’s younger sister, Heather, the goalie, who put an end to the scoring.

Nonleague

Western 11, Costa Mesa 10

SCORE BY QUARTERS

W – G. Price 7, Hinojosa 1, Truman 1, Hager 1, Fournier 1. Saves – H. Price 7.

CM – Rendon 5, Williams 2, Decker 1, Speer 1, Simpson 1. Saves – Bowen 9.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.