Sluggish Breakers fall to Foothill

LAGUNA BEACH — Jessie Porter fired a rocket shot from the right side, across the cage midway through the fourth quarter.

Foothill girls’ water polo Coach Dave Mikesell, always his intense self on the pool deck, could finally relax a little.

“Nice shot, kid,” he said.

Porter’s third goal of the game had essentially put it away, as Foothill beat Laguna Beach, 11-6, in the nonleague game Saturday.

The Breakers, the top-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Division II poll, seemed sluggish for some reason. They played like they were a bit rusty, which may have been true. They hadn’t played since the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions, and practice time was limited this week due to the rain storms.

“We were just a step slow, in pretty much every aspect,” Laguna Beach Coach Ethan Damato said. “I think we had three turnovers out of three timeouts.”

Foothill jumped to a 3-1 lead after a quarter. Laguna (12-5) used goals from Yoshi Andersen and a six-on-five strike from Jessie Holechek to knot the score at 3-3, yet Foothill (9-8), ranked No. 8 in Division I, had an answer.

They used goals from sophomore center McKenna Mitchell, as well as senior Olivia Cummins and junior Kelli Boling, in the final two minutes of the first half. It gave the Knights a 6-3 lead and the Breakers never drew closer than two goals in the second half, as Foothill also used nice goalie play from Rachel Noll.

Porter, a sophomore, hadn’t played due to a hamstring injury when Laguna beat Foothill, 8-7, in the quarterfinals of the Holiday Cup on Dec. 30. But the bigger reason the Knights won Saturday was that they’re finally gelling, Mikesell said.

“Our defense was really good,” Mikesell said. “I mean, defense, above all else, won us that game...and as far as our shooting and our front-court offense, that was probably the most consistent we’ve been for four quarters. It was good to see.”

Senior Lexie Ross scored twice for the Breakers. Junior Lida DeGroote and sophomore Melena Masson also scored, and junior goalie Etianne Manetta made five saves and had four steals.

Laguna Beach plays host to Godinez in an Orange Coast League match on Wednesday, then has a big nonleague test at Palos Verdes at 3:15 p.m. Friday.

Palos Verdes had been No. 1 in Division II most of the year but dropped to No. 2 in the most recent poll. However, Damato surmised that PV might move back up to No. 1 after upsetting Newport Harbor, 8-7, in another nonleague game on Saturday.

Still, Friday’s battle could decide who’s the top-seeded team for CIF playoffs.