Corona del Mar, Edison girls' water polo teams advance to CIF finals

Corona del Mar's Claire Eusey takes a shot against Harvard-Westlake during a CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinal.

By Matt SzaboStaff Writer

Feb. 17, 2022 2:25 PM PT

IRVINE — The Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo team is back in the big game, while Edison finds itself on the verge of history.

The Sea Kings and Chargers both navigated through their respective CIF Southern Section semifinal matches Wednesday at Woollett Aquatics Center to earn a shot at a ring.

Corona del Mar toppled No. 2-seeded Studio City Harvard-Westlake 11-5 in a Division 1 semifinal match. The Sea Kings (18-13) will play top-seeded Agoura in the final Saturday at 12:10 p.m., back at Woollett.

No. 2-seeded Edison, meanwhile, has advanced to its first CIF title match in program history after a wild 8-7 overtime win over No. 3 San Juan Hills in a Division 2 semifinal match. The Chargers (16-10) will play top-seeded Yucaipa in the final Saturday at 2:50 p.m., also at Woollett.

CdM will be making its first CIF title match appearance since 2019. Senior Claire Eusey helped the Sea Kings get there, scoring five goals in the semifinal. Didi Evans scored twice, and Makena Macedo, Mia Bernhoit, Reagan Weir and Mackenzie Dollander added one goal each.

Corona del Mar's Didi Evans takes a shot during Wednesday's Division 1 semifinal match.

“Our big thing was communication, playing as a unit and being there for each other,” Eusey said. “Throughout the playoff run, we’ve been able to pick it up. It’s been really fun to watch my teammates succeed throughout the process. We’ve had a lot of people step up.”

Junior goalkeeper Sarah Decker made 10 saves for the Sea Kings, who beat the Wolverines for the third time this season.

CdM used strong defense, opening up a 4-1 lead late in the first half.

“Honestly, I’m just riding the waves of the girls,” said second-year CdM head coach Melissa Seidemann, a three-time Olympic gold medalist. “They’re super-pumped and super-connected right now. I mean, I know what it feels like to be in this position as an athlete ... I’m just trying to be there and build them up and give them the information that they need, but they’re doing all the work, man.”

Corona del Mar's Melissa Seidemann high fives Dahlia Archer following Wednesday's Division 1 semifinal match.

The scene afterward was joyous, with members of the CdM boys’ water polo team making a tunnel for the victorious girls to run through. Eusey said the boys brought the girls’ team little snack gift bags to enjoy after Wednesday’s win.

“To be able to come together and play as a unit, I think it’s just setting up our program for success,” Eusey said. “A lot of our younger girls were here, so it was cool to have them see that we’re continuing to succeed, and they can be in that position some day.”

Edison 8, San Juan Hills 7 (OT): Senior Lily Larson scored the eventual game-winning goal in overtime, helping the Chargers advance to the Division 2 final.

It was Edison’s third victory over San Juan Hills this year, all coming in overtime.

Larson overcame early foul trouble to score a team-high three goals for the Chargers. It was sophomore Jillian Van Gemert who came up with a big play at the end of the fourth quarter.

Edison's Lily Larson (14), Kenna Boehm, center, and Madie Ambrose hug it out after beating San Juan Hills.

With San Juan Hills in possession and up by a goal, the Stallions called timeout with 20 seconds left. But Van Gemert got a steal along the left sideline and passed the ball in front to Larson, who scored to send it to overtime.

Van Gemert had been stuffed on a point-blank shot just moments earlier.

“That was a really good motivator in my head,” she said. “I knew I had to make up for that ... The girl just gave me an opening, and I took it. Lily was already by the cage, and she made a beautiful shot.”

Bella Schulze scored twice for Edison, while Riley Boehm, Van Gemert and Bridget Angelovic added one goal each. Senior goalkeeper Madie Ambrose had 15 saves and two assists to Larson on the counterattack.

Edison's Lily Larson celebrates after scoring the go-ahead goal against San Juan Hills.

Neither team had a lead of more than two goals throughout the match.

Edison coach Nick Graffis said he was proud of the heart that the Chargers showed.

“To have one more game left, to get two more practices Thursday and Friday with the girls at our brand-new pool ... it’s a ton of emotion,” Graffis said. “We went through some struggles to get here, for sure, but it’s great to see that hard work did pay off.”