Newport Harbor boys’ water polo rides centers to win over Corona del Mar
Spectators packed the pool deck for the first round of the Battle of the Bay series, bringing an electricity to the game that was matched by the players.
In a high-scoring affair, the Newport Harbor High boys’ water polo team simply looked unstoppable, especially in close.
Senior Ike Love and junior Eli Liechty each had four goals, as the host Sailors defeated rival Corona del Mar 16-11 on Wednesday night a Surf League game.
“I thought our centers played really well the whole game, and I thought defensively, they were really good,” Sailors coach Ross Sinclair said. “They were really dominant, and I think that was something that we talked about them being dominant and wanting to come out and establish that this game. I thought they did a really good job of that.”
Newport Harbor (11-1, 2-0 in league), ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 and 2 poll, has won three in a row. The Sailors will open the three-day Elite Eight tournament against Moraga Campolindo at Studio City Harvard-Westlake on Thursday at 2:45 p.m.
Less than five minutes into the game, the Sailors jumped to a 3-0 lead. Love had two goals and Liechty also scored in two meters in that span.
Makoto Kenney would add two goals in the final two minutes of the first quarter, a period that saw the Sailors close it out with a 6-1 advantage.
Kenney (finger), a UCLA commit, recently returned to action against San Clemente on Saturday. He finished with three goals and two assists.
Tommy Kennedy (back), who has committed to Cal, also returned for the Sailors last week. He had two goals, three assists and a steal.
“Obviously, they’re very good players, and they’re seniors,” Love said of Kenney and Kennedy. “They add a whole new element to the team.
“One thing that was good about having them out was the younger players got development and they got to see more varsity minutes.”
Senior goalkeeper Blake Jackson, bound for USC, had eight saves for the Sailors.
Newport Harbor built its lead up to 12-6, as Kennedy found Liechty once more inside of two meters with 1:49 to go in the third quarter.
Back-to-back goals by Tanner Pulice pulled No. 8 CdM (12-2, 1-1) to within a four-goal margin.
The Sea Kings had life, but Kennedy scored on a deflected shot at the third-quarter buzzer to put Newport Harbor ahead 13-8 heading into the final period.
Goals from Tyler Harvey and Haig Mavusi narrowed the CdM deficit to 13-10 with 3:20 to go, but that would be as close as the Sea Kings got.
“The guys and [our coaching staff] talked a lot about responding to adversity, and that’s kind of been a major characteristic of our team, the amount of fight that these guys have,” Sea Kings coach Kareem Captan said. “We went down 5-0, and at the end of the first [quarter], it’s 6-1. From there, the guys never gave up, always clawed back. We kept knocking at the door. We got to within three [goals] a few times.
“It shows a lot of character [about] who our guys are. I know that from the second quarter, we played evenly with them.”
Pulice finished with four goals and three assists to lead CdM. Aden Mina had two goals. Eamon Hennessey and Gavin Reed each had one goal.
Sam Allen, Reed Stemler and Justin Boals each scored once for Newport Harbor. Boals scored off a rebound late, providing the final goal of the evening before several fans jumped into the pool to join the victorious Sailors.
“During the regular games, there are a lot of people, but Battle of the Bay just has that tradition, that rivalry between the two schools,” Boals said. “It really brings the best out of people and really brings such a big and true competition. It’s really awesome to see.”
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