Sea Kings suffer first loss of season

GOLETA — The Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo team lost its first game of the season, falling to Dos Pueblos, 6-4, in a semifinal of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions Saturday morning in the Chargers’ pool.

The Sea Kings (15-1), ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll, bounced back with an 8-3 victory over Back Bay rival Newport Harbor in the third-place match. It was the third time this season Corona del Mar defeated the Sailors.

“We didn’t play aggressively enough on offense,” CdM Coach Aaron Chaney said of his team’s first loss. “We didn’t show a lot of patience and we didn’t shoot well against the drop [defense].”

Chaney also said the Sea Kings gave Dos Pueblos sophomore Kiley Neushul too much room and she scored three goals in the Chargers’ win. She also scored three goals the last time the teams met, Dec. 5, when Corona del Mar opened the season with a 10-8 win at Dos Pueblos.

But this time, the Chargers, ranked No. 3 in CIF Division I, opened the first half with a 4-1 lead and the Sea Kings could not recover.

Senior Leslee Kaczmarek led the Sea Kings with two goals, while junior Margot Money and senior Victoria Kennedy scored one goal each. Senior goalie Kate Baldoni recorded eight saves.

Chaney said he did not think the Sea Kings were at a disadvantage playing in the Chargers’ pool.

He said he liked the way his team responded to their first loss of the season, coming out strong in the victory over the Sailors, ranked No. 2 in CIF Division I. Kennedy led the way with three goals, while seniors Elise Molnar and Heather Van Hiel scored two goals each.

At one point, the Sea Kings were ahead, 6-1, en route to their third-place finish.

“Newport didn’t seem to come with any fire in that game,” said Chaney, whose team plays host to Irvine Wednesday at 4 p.m.. “We jumped on them early and they didn’t seem to come back harder, not like when we played them in the Holiday Cup [a 5-3 win for the championship].”

Newport Harbor seniors Megan McAuley, Mia Butera and Nicolina McCall scored one goal each in the loss to CdM. Junior goalie Krissy Burger had four saves.

The Sailors lost in the semifinals to Sunset League foe Los Alamitos, 10-9.

McCall led the Sailors (12-5) with four goals, two assists and a steal, while juniors Kate Klippert and Kaleigh Gilchrist scored two goals each. Burger finished with nine saves.

Newport Harbor will play against the Griffins again Feb. 11 at 5 p.m. at Newport Harbor in a match that will most likely be for the Sunset League championship.

The Sailors return to action Friday in a nonleague game at Santa Margarita.

Dos Pueblos beat Los Al in the Tournament of Champions final, 6-4.

— From staff reports

Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions

Third-place game

Corona del Mar 8, Newport Harbor 3

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NH – McAuley 1, Butera 1, McCall 1. Saves – Burger 4.

CdM – Kennedy 3, Molnar 2, Van Hiel 2, Money 1. Saves – Baldoni 4, Youngman 2.

Semifinal

Dos Pueblos 6, Corona del Mar 4

SCORE BY QUARTERS

DP – Neushul 3, A. Hill 1, K. Hill 1, Morelos 1.

CdM – Kaczmarek 2, Kennedy 1, Money 1. Saves – Baldoni.

Semifinal

Los Alamitos 10, Newport Harbor 9

SCORE BY QUARTERS

LA – Dunn 3, K. Dodson 3, Fakal 3, C. Dodson 1. Saves – Smith 5.

NH – McCall 4, Klippert 2, Gilchrist 2, Butera 1. Saves – Burger 9.