High School Roundup: Another title for Breakers in girls’ water polo
The Laguna Beach girls’ water polo team captured its second major tournament title of the 2014-15 season last weekend by winning the 16th annual Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.
The Breakers rolled to wins over El Toro (16-6), San Marcos (14-4) and Corona del Mar (9-3), before taking down Foothill for a third time this season, 9-5, in the title match.
Laguna also defeated Foothill (13-3) in the championship game of the Newport Harbor earlier this month, and defeated the Knights (6-5) again the following week in a Jan. 8 nonleague match.
“I was so proud of the way the girls performed the whole weekend,” Coach Ethan Damato said. “It was the best we have played so far this season, which was a lot of fun to watch. The girls looked extremely focused and played with a lot of energy on both ends of the pool. Our 6-on-5 was better and our 5-on-6 was really good. All areas still have adjustments and improvements to be made but we are making a lot of progress.
“Overall, we’re coming home happy with how we played, excited to win such a prestigious tournament and even more excited that there is still more room to grow as a team.”
In the title-clinching 9-5 win over Foothill, Makenzie Fischer had three goals, four assists and two steals, Aria Fischer also scored three goals and had two steals, Bella Baldridge had two goals, an assist and two steals, Haley Evans scored once and had two assists, and Holly Parker recorded nine saves and had three steals.
Makenzie Fischer was named MVP of the tournament, and Aria Fischer was named to the all-tournament team.
Prior to contending at the Tournament of Champions, Laguna played a nonleague game on Jan. 15 at Dos Pueblos. The Breakers shut out the Chargers over the second and third quarters, and rolled past the eighth-ranked team in CIF-SS Division 1, 19-5.
Makenzie Fischer had a game-high five goals, Baldridge scored twice and had a team-high four assists and tied with Natalie Selin for team honors in steals with three, and Parker had three saves and Thea Walsh seven saves.
“The girls looked really sharp in the DP game,” Damato said. “Every girl that came into the game was in attack mode from start to finish. We saw each other really well, passed and shot the ball as well as we have all season. This game got us into a nice groove heading into the tournament.”
Laguna returned to Orange Coast League play on Wednesday and its first game since its trip up north resulted in a 26-8 rout of visiting Saddleback.
A balanced scoring attack that saw 11 Breakers net goals was led by three scores apiece from Makenzie Fischer, Aria Fischer, Selin, Mia Salvini and Evan Tingler. Baldridge, Evans, Gabi Beran, Brighid Burnes, and Daniela Lucidi each scored twice, and Sophia Lucas scored once. Parker and Walsh had five and two saves, respectively.
The five victories up north last week, combined with Wednesday’s win against Saddleback, put Laguna’s winning streak at 38 games. The Breakers are 17-0 overall and 2-0 in OCL play.
Laguna is back in league action next Wednesday when it visits Estancia in a 3:15 p.m. start.
With the Holiday Cup and Tournament of Champions titles in it possession, Laguna will attempt to win the Triple Crown of girls’ water polo tournaments for the second straight year when the event’s reigning champion vies for the title of the SoCal Championships Feb. 5-7 in Irvine.
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Boys’ Soccer
The Breakers are 1-0-2 in Orange Coast League play and 5-5-3 overall after playing to a pair of tie league contests in the past week.
On Wednesday at Estancia, the Breakers used a strong defensive effort against the host Eagles.
“Really proud of how the lads played, their level of commitment, focus and intensity was exactly what we needed,” Laguna Coach Dan Richards said. “The organization of our back line and midfield meant it was very hard for them to break us down. We also carried a good threat on the counter attack and had a couple of great opportunities to win the game.
“The whole team played really well and I couldn’t have asked for more from them. Logan (Eastman) had an excellent game in the midfield along with Carson (Cushing) and Sterling (Butler) in our back line.”
In a previous league match, Laguna and Saddleback were scoreless on Jan. 16.
“This was a really hard fought point for our boys,” Richards said. “Saddleback was very strong and asked a lot of questions of our team. I was very happy that we managed to keep another clean sheet and showed a lot of discipline throughout the game. The experience that Saddleback had on the field was far superior to us, so I’m delighted in the mature display our team put together.”
Laguna travels Friday to Santa Ana to face Calvary Chapel in a 5 p.m. league match at Centennial Park. The Breakers have two league games next week beginning with a 6:30 p.m. home match Wednesday at Guyer Field against Godinez. The match with the Grizzlies ends the first round of league play.
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Girls’ Soccer
The Breakers suffered their first Orange Coast League defeat on Tuesday when host Estancia converted two penalty shots to pull out a 2-1 victory.
The first half ended without either team scoring. The Breakers came up big defensively in the half when goalies Chirara Noppenberger and Kylie George both recorded big stops.
Laguna Coach Bill Rolfing called Noppenberger’s play a “dramatic goal-line clearance.” George’s stop came at the 18-yard line.
Estancia was awarded a penalty shot in the game’s 60th minute, which it converted. Three minutes later, the Breakers evened the score when Janie Crawford scored on a header off a corner kick by Alyssa Pellow.
With five minutes remaining, Estancia converted its second penalty shot for the winning score.
George finished with seven saves and Rolfing said Amy Hewlett had “terrific play” in Laguna’s central defense.
The loss put Laguna at 2-1 in league, and 4-4-5 overall.
Estancia shared the OCL lead with Calvary Chapel, both with 2-0-1 records, after the match.
“Overall, we had a stellar defensive evening in holding off a strong Estancia team,” Rolfing said. “Our struggles came up field in finding a rhythm of play.”
Laguna collected its second league win on Jan. 15 by blanking visiting Saddleback, 2-0, at Guyer Field.
Despite getting off 10 first-half shots to one by the Roadrunners, the Breakers went into halftime scoreless. That tie was broken in the second half when the Breakers’ first goal, which Rolfing termed “the best of the season, so far, in the coaches’ eyes,” was scored off an impressive play between Paige Vitolo and Alden Kramer.
Vitolo received the ball at the midfield left side, made a “a blistering run,” Rolfing said, toward the Saddleback goal with several defenders challenging her down field. From 10 yards out from the left-side of the goal, Vitolo drove the ball to the near post where it defected across to the opposite side to a charging Kramer. The freshman, who had paralleled Vitolo down field on the play, slammed the ball into the net for a 1-0 lead.
Laguna’s other goal came on a long, bending drive by Regan Caraher with the assist going to Shea Skenderian.
Rolfing said Pellow and Audrey Pillsbury made key offensive contributions for the Breakers in the second half.
Laguna met Calvary Chapel Thursday in a league game. The score wasn’t available at press time.
The Breakers have two league games next week. They host Godinez on Tuesday and Costa Mesa on Thursday, both matches starting at 5 p.m. at Guyer Field.
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Girls’ Golf
The Laguna girls’ golf program presented team award honors to several members of its Orange Coast League championship squad at the conclusion of the 2014 season. Below are the honorees, which includes MaryKate Quellmalz being named team MVP:
Team Most Valuable Golfer: MaryKate Quellmalz.
Team Captain: Hailey McCullough.
Most Improved Golfer: Halle Redfearn.
Coach’s Pick: Leslie Dwight; Halle Redfearn.
Rookie of the Year: BellaRose Robinson.
In the Jan. 16 issue of the Coastline Pilot, Redfearn was incorrectly listed as the team’s MVP. Redfearn took Most Valuable Golfer honors in the Orange Coast League for the 2014 season by winning the league’s individual tournament last October.
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CIF Weekly Rankings
Girls’ Water Polo: Laguna Beach (No. 1, Division 1).
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Twitter: @MikeSciacca