Sea Kings take on Knights
Girls’ Water Polo
CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinal
No. 1 Corona del Mar (27-2) vs. No. 4 Foothill (24-5)
When/where: Wednesday, 6:15 p.m. at Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine
Key Sea Kings: Sr. utility Pippa Saunders (54 goals, 28 assists, team-high 44 steals); Sr. goalie Alex Musselman (268 saves); Sr. center Diana Murphy (74 goals, 39 steals); Jr. attacker Cassidy Papa (team-high 79 goals, 41 assists, 42 steals); Jr. attacker Ally McCormick (59 goals, team-high 61 assists).
Key Knights: Sr. center McKenna Mitchell (team-high 78 goals, co-team-high 39 steals); Jr. utility Nikki Stansfield (56 goals, 38 steals); Sr. attacker Jessie Porter (35 goals, co-team-high 39 steals); Jr. attacker Brenna Thomas (44 goals, 30 steals); Jr. goalie Kelsey Roland (317 saves).
Breakdown: The teams have met just once this season, an 11-8 CdM victory in the semifinals of the Irvine Southern California Championships Feb. 4, but they’re still very familiar with each other ... CdM topped Foothill to win the California State High School Championships in July, and Foothill edged CdM to win the Foothill Fall Fling in November ... Wednesday’s game is also a rematch of last year’s Division 1 semifinals, which the Knights won, 10-9, in overtime ... CdM and Foothill were the top two teams in the preseason Division 1 poll... Another key player for the Sea Kings is junior Genevieve Weed, who can bury the outside shot if teams play off of her ... CdM is in at least the CIF semifinals for the 13th straight year, but has lost in this round the last two seasons.
— Matt Szabo