Lucas leads Sailors

NEWPORT BEACH — Newport Harbor High boys’ water polo coach Jason Lynch had a sense that Harvard-Westlake would focus its defense on Blake Kelly Friday. After all, the senior entered the CIF Southern Section Division I quarterfinals with a team-high 82 goals.

Yet at some point during the game, Lynch practically had a smirk. He knows the Sailors have other weapons. And though they started slow, the Tars had one of them step up.

Senior Zach Lucas delivered a brilliant performance with four goals, four steals and three assists, helping lead Newport Harbor to a 10-5 victory.

The Sailors (25-4), the No. 2 seed, will face Back Bay rival Corona del Mar in the semifinals Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Irvine High.

Early on, Newport Harbor, which last won a CIF title in 2007 and lost in the quarterfinals last year, trailed 1-0, and then 2-1 in the second quarter.

But late in the second period, the Sailors turned it on with two goals scored on the counterattack within the final 99 seconds before the half.

Senior Dane Sequiera scored his only goal after finishing off a pass from senior Jack Yeager with 1:39 left in the second quarter. Then Lucas connected on a shot from the outside that ricocheted off goalie Bryce Tobias’ hand, hit the post, then off the back of Tobias’ head and into the cage for a 4-2 lead.

“We came out a little soft,” Lucas said. “We should’ve came out a lot harder. We were all fired up and we all wanted to play, so once we got a couple of goals, we started to get rolling and we started to have fun.

“We’re stoked [to be in the semifinals]. This team since our freshman year we felt like in our senior year we can go for it and win [a] CIF [championship].”

Lucas gave the Sailors a 5-2 lead early in the third quarter, connecting on a power-play situation. Senior Matt Russell as well as Kelly and sophomore Farrell South scored in the quarter that saw Newport Harbor build an 8-4 lead.

Kelly finished with two goals, as did South, who scored on a sensational shot from near the middle of the pool with less than a second left in the third.

Russell drew three fouls that set up the power play, two came in the final quarter when Lucas scored and Kelly found the back of the cage after a great pass from Lucas.

Newport Harbor was five for six on its extra-man opportunities.

Because Harvard-Westlake led early and hung around, it seemed as if the Wolverines (14-10) would be able to rally. Harvard-Westlake, which finished second in the Mission League behind top-seeded Loyola of Los Angeles, came within, 8-5, with 4:26 remaining.

But, Lucas, who leads the team with 80 steals and is second on the team with 53 goals, scored with 1:59 left to virtually put the game away.

The Sailors are 2-0 against CdM this season, winning, 10-9, Oct. 24, and 7-5, Oct. 31.

In the other semifinal, Loyola will play against El Toro.