Newport Harbor boys’ water polo ousts Laguna Beach in CIF opener
Newport Harbor is just one victory away from its third successive CIF Southern Section top-tier boys’ water polo title game after dispensing of Laguna Beach for the third time this season. It’s a big step, but the Sailors are approaching it with great confidence.
The host Sailors scored five of the last six goals Thursday to pull away to a 14-8 triumph over the visiting Breakers in a game far tighter than the two Surf League meetings, benefiting from Sai Bassett’s departure after his third exclusion near the end of the third quarter and somewhat limiting Cal-bound star William Kelly’s effectiveness for an impressive team victory.
Gage Verdegaal scored two of his four goals and Ben Liechty netted his third in the fourth quarter as third-seeded Newport Harbor (24-5) pulled away to set up an Open Division semifinal Wednesday at No. 2 Mater Dei (24-2), a 14-7 winner over Foothill.
The other semifinal will pit No. 1 Huntington Beach (18-2) against No. 4 Studio City Harvard-Westlake (23-5), the team that toppled the Sailors in the 2018 and 2019 Division 1 finals.
Those losses and the pandemic that followed, delaying and severely abbreviating last season, have stirred Newport Harbor, a 12-time champion that last won a CIF title in 2007, more than usual.
“The hunger at Newport Harbor is always there,” said Harvard-bound senior Mason Hunt, who scored a couple of goals and was pivotal in the Sailors’ probing attack. “We always have that end-of-the-year goal to go out there and win under the lights at Woollett [Aquatics Center in Irvine, site of the title game], but I think this year the belief is really high after losing the season last year. We’re hungrier than ever for the opportunity to go out and play.”
Mater Dei won the mid-September meeting, 10-8.
Liechty, who shadowed Kelly much of the game, tallied twice as Newport Harbor raced to a 4-1 lead by the first minute of the second quarter, but the Breakers (16-11), behind four Kelly goals and two by Nicholas Hoffs, pulled within a goal four times — at 4-3, 5-4, 6-5 and 7-6 — before Bassett fouled out.
“We knew we could give them a battle,” said Laguna Beach head coach Ethan Damato, whose team dropped the league games, 13-3 and 15-3. “We did a great job today of keeping it within striking distance through all the game, just ran into some foul trouble at the end of the third quarter.”
Peter Castillo and Will Fosselman added two goals apiece for Newport Harbor, and Finn Genc tallied on a power-play goal after Bassett’s third exclusion with 53 seconds to go in the third quarter.
The Sailors’ defensive pressure had them in command throughout, and goalkeeper Cooper Mathisrud was effective coming off his line and made 10 saves.
“We definitely did a good job defensively collectively,” Newport Harbor head coach Ross Sinclair said. “[Kelly and Bassett] are both really good players, and it’s hard to defend them one-on-one. Our overall team defending did a good job of forcing the ball out of [Kelly’s] hands.”
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