Newport Harbor girls’ water polo falls to San Marcos in Bill Barnett Holiday Cup quarterfinals
Newport Harbor High girls’ water polo coach Ross Sinclair called timeout in the last minute of the first half against Santa Barbara San Marcos on Thursday afternoon.
The play the Sailors ran was crisp, ending with Angie Peterson feeding the ball to Ryan Chalupnik for a quick goal inside.
Yes, it was only the Sailors’ second goal of the match, but there were positives to take out of their 13-8 home loss to San Marcos in the quarterfinals of the Bill Barnett Holiday Cup.
Newport Harbor (8-1), which is tied for seventh in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 rankings, had its first loss of the year come against No. 5 San Marcos. The Royals advanced to play Laguna Beach in the Bill Barnett Holiday Cup’s second semifinal match, at 11:45 a.m. Friday at Newport Harbor High.
The Breakers are looking for their ninth straight Bill Barnett Holiday Cup title.
The first semifinal, at 10:40 a.m., will match top-seeded Orange Lutheran and Los Alamitos. The championship match is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
Newport Harbor, last year’s CIF Southern Section Open Division champion, finds itself with a young squad this season. The Sailors have just three seniors in USC-bound goalkeeper Anna Reed, left-hander Avery Montiel and Long Beach State commit Chiara Amoroso. Sinclair said that Montiel, a Stanford commit, hasn’t played much this year as she deals with a shoulder injury.
San Marcos opened up a 6-0 lead after the first quarter of Thursday’s match. Senior Ava Stryker had four of the goals, and finished with six for the match, while freshman Charlotte Raisin added four goals for the Royals.
“That first quarter was really inexperience versus experience,” Sinclair said. “Playing against a high-level water polo team, being ready to play in a quarterfinal game — it’s a really good lesson for us. There were a lot of positives, really a lot of learning experience that we can take. It will bode well for the future if we can really focus and apply it.”
Chalupnik and Peterson, who have been playing together on and off for about five years, showed good chemistry in the water for the Sailors. Chalupnik finished with four goals, and Peterson had a match-high five assists.
Sophomore Harper Price scored twice for Newport Harbor, which also got a goal each from Amoroso and sophomore Caitlin Stayt. Reed, a four-year starter, made nine saves.
The Sailors, who beat Studio City Harvard-Westlake 11-6 earlier Thursday to open the tournament, host Santa Margarita in a Bill Barnett Holiday Cup fifth-place semifinal on Friday at 9:35 a.m.
“If you’re in that top eight, you’re going to get three good games,” Sinclair said. “[Friday] is going to be no picnic against Santa Margarita, and on other side is Mater Dei and Foothill. Obviously, they’re some really good teams, which is what we want. We’re excited to get that opportunity.”
Laguna Beach 15, Santa Margarita 14: Senior center Charlotte Riches scored a career-high seven goals as the Breakers outlasted the Eagles in another Bill Barnett Holiday Cup quarterfinal match Thursday at Newport Harbor High.
Senior goalkeeper Lauren Schneider made a career-high 16 saves for Laguna Beach (5-1), which got three goals from Kara Carver and two goals from Emmy Hensley. The Breakers rallied from a 5-2 second-quarter deficit.
Lauren Short scored five goals to lead Laguna Beach in a 20-2 opening-round win over Edison earlier Thursday.
Corona del Mar 19, Carlsbad 4: The Sea Kings earned a win in their second match of the day Thursday.
CdM suffered a 10-7 loss to Mater Dei in the first round of the tournament.
CdM will host Oaks Christian in a ninth-place semifinal Friday at 10:40 a.m.
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