Sea Kings stepping up

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IRVINE — The not-so-pleasant comments about the Corona del Mar High girls’ water team were heard before the season and the Sea Kings took notice.

CdM is young, many people said. The Sea Kings are not as talented as last year’s deep squad, the CdM girls were told by some.

But the Sea Kings are using the criticism as motivation. Sophomore Pippa Saunders certainly has those comments stoking her fire.

“A lot of people thought that we weren’t going to be that good coming out this year because of the huge loss of seniors [to graduation] we had,” Saunders said. “We had such talented seniors. But we really have gone out and tried to prove them wrong. We’ve worked really hard and I think that it’s paying off.”

Saunders showed that Saturday when she scored four goals to help lead the Sea Kings to an 8-5 nonleague win over Foothill at Beckman.

It wasn’t so much a season-changing game for the Sea Kings, but rather a pivotal moment in the fourth period.

The Knights (4-6) scored with just less than three minutes left in the third period to trail CdM, 6-4.

But CdM (8-4) responded with two goals within the first two minutes of the fourth period to regain control of the game.

“They’re a young team and they’re fighting,” CdM Coach Aaron Chaney said of his girls. “They’re showing that they’re fighters and that’s really important.

“We just have to play a little more consistently in all of our games, but I like our progress so far.”

As the season progresses, opinions are changing about the Sea Kings, who entered the season ranked No. 7 in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll. Last year, they finished runner-up in Division I, but looked to the 2009-10 season as a bit of a rebuilding year.

However, CdM is building quickly.

“Corona played very well,” Foothill Coach Dave Mikesell said. “They have a very young team. They are playing a lot better now than they did at the beginning of the season.”

Mikesell left the game frustrated mostly by his team not playing to its potential, he said. Yet that had a lot to do with the Sea Kings’ feisty defense. Mikesell will have to give attention to the power play during practice this week. CdM didn’t allow a goal in the six times the Knights had the extra player.

The Sea Kings, on the other hand, went four for nine on the power play.

Sophomore goalie Alex Musselman led the defense with 13 saves.

Ally McCormick had two steals, while Saunders, Victoria Kent, Claire Eadington and Cassidy Papa had one steal each to contribute on defense.

Margot Money added two goals on offense, while Papa also had three assists and one goal.

The strong defense is something CdM can use as it plays in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions, Friday and Saturday. Before that, the Sea Kings open Pacific Coast League play against Laguna Hills Wednesday.

Against the Knights, and recently, the Sea Kings have picked up their game.

Corona del Mar finished third in the Holiday Cup last week, when it put up a good semifinal fight against Dos Pueblos of Goleta. In a rematch of last year’s CIF Division I title game, the Sea Kings lost, 6-4, to the Chargers, who went on to win the tourney championship.

But CdM gathered confidence from the game, in which the Sea Kings once led, Saunders said. The performance proved the Sea Kings do have great potential.

That potential can especially be seen in the young goalie, Musselman. She recorded 13 saves against Dos Pueblos and another 18 in a 4-2 win over Laguna Beach that helped CdM finish third in the Holiday Cup.

She is well aware of the now-strong tradition of goalies at CdM. She takes over in the cage for Kate Baldoni, who graduated in the spring and is now at Stanford. Brittany Fullen also starred in the No. 1 cap for the Sea Kings before going on to succeed at UCLA, as did Tumua Anae, who now plays for USC.

“CdM has had some really good goalies, so yeah there’s pressure,” Musselman said. “But I like it. It’s good. It can drive you.”

The Sea Kings plan to remain motivated. Chaney enjoys the way they’ve played hard throughout games, never quitting. Saunders says CdM wants to continue with that effort.

“Something that our team always does is, we are always trying hard every game,” she said. “We are a really relentless team.”