Sailors, CdM onward

NEWPORT BEACH — A fourth-place finish in the Irvine Southern California Championships happened late in the regular season for the Newport Harbor High girls’ water polo team. That’s not an ideal way to play heading into the postseason.

But senior Kaleigh Gilchrist says, “That is way behind us.”

Gilchrist, bound for USC, showed that Wednesday when she had five goals, three steals and one assist to help lead the No. 2-seeded Sailors to a 9-3 win over visiting Mater Dei in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs.

Gilchrist said Newport Harbor (23-5) had trouble putting the ball into the cage. The Sailors had 26 shots on goal.

Katie Jackson, Kate Klippert, Colleen McCall and Madison McLaren had one goal each. Goalie Krissy Burger stood out on defense. She recorded 11 saves, including a stop on a five-meter penalty shot.

“Everyone is just making a bigger deal than it is,” Gilchrist said of losses to Los Alamitos and Edison the day after the Sailors had their winter formal. “We did what we had to do in that tournament. We finished in the top four. We just weren’t focused enough on the tournament. We probably should’ve beaten Edison ... We’re not thinking about that anymore. It’s all about Santa Barbara now.”

Santa Barbara defeated visiting Huntington Beach, 9-6, Wednesday. Newport Harbor won the coin flip and will play host to the quarterfinal match against the Dons Friday, scheduled for 3:15 p.m.

The Sailors have beaten the Dons twice this season, 12-4, Dec. 30 in the Holiday Cup and, 8-5, Feb. 5 in the Irvine tournament.

— From staff reports

SEA KINGS COAST TO WIN

CORONA DEL MAR — After a 14-3 win over Long Beach Poly, the Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo team quickly turned its attention to the CIF Southern Section Division I quarterfinals.

The Sea Kings went to Fullerton College to watch a late first-round game between Edison and Rosary. The winner would be their quarterfinal opponent. Turns out the CdM girls were excited about the winner.

CdM (20-8) will face Edison Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Golden West College. Edison beat Rosary, 8-6.

The Chargers (22-6) defeated the Sea Kings, 8-4, Feb. 5 at CdM in the Irvine Southern California Championships.

“The girls are pretty psyched to play [Edison],” CdM Coach Aaron Chaney said. “They are really excited to play Edison because they lost to [the Chargers]. We feel confident about beating them. I think they can say the same about us though.”

The Sea Kings built a 7-1 lead before halftime to cruise to the win over the Jackrabbits.

Margot Money and Diana Murphy led the way with three goals each. Pippa Saunders, Victoria Kent and Cassidy Papa had two goals each. Goalie Alex Musselman led the defense with 10 saves.

— From staff reports