Daily Pilot Girls’ Water Polo Dream Team: Thea Walsh the backbone of Laguna Beach’s defense

Thea Walsh made a school single-season record 298 saves as a junior goalkeeper for the Laguna Beach High girls’ water polo team, and she didn’t quite approach that number as a senior.

Walsh made 262 saves this year, and there were a couple of reasons. The Breakers (26-3) played two less games than last season, as they did not travel to the rescheduled Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions due to it being finals week. But the main reason was that coach Ethan Damato would put junior backup goalkeeper Quinn Winter into games that were blowouts.

Walsh, bound for Stanford, didn’t seem to mind.

“I thought it was great that Quinn got to play this year,” Walsh said. “She’s really good. The team is set next year for goalies. I think she’s going to do great next year.”

That type of attitude, wanting what’s best for the team, seemed to typify Walsh. She did earn her share of individual accolades for Laguna Beach. Walsh was the Orange Coast League MVP, helping the Breakers win the league for the 12th straight year before moving to the Sunset League next year. She also was an All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 selection, and earned Most Outstanding Goalie at the Irvine Southern California Championships for the second straight year.

She helped the defending CIF champion Breakers rebound from an upset loss in the quarterfinals of the Division 1 playoffs to eventual champion Santa Barbara San Marcos. Laguna finished fifth in Division 1 and then first in the inaugural CIF Southern California Regional Division II tournament.

For her role as the backbone of the Breakers’ defense, Walsh is the 2017-18 Daily Pilot Girls’ Water Polo Dream Team Player of the Year.

“It wasn’t the final result that we necessarily wanted at the start of the season, but once we lost that [quarterfinal game] of CIF, we made it a goal to finish the season on a positive note,” Walsh said. “We still had more games, so we just thought, OK, we’re still going to show up to practice and have a positive attitude about this. We were given a chance to end on a good note.”

Walsh always stayed positive for the Breakers, also putting up big numbers. She set a program single-game record with 19 saves in a 7-1 win over Foothill in a Holiday Cup tournament semifinal, a performance that Damato said was one of the best goalie games he had ever seen. Five days later, Walsh bettered her own mark with 20 saves against the Knights in a nonleague road game.

“I think it’s kind of funny that happened,” said Walsh, one of eight Breakers seniors signed or committed to play in college. “Those two games, I thought, were the best our team played together as a group and as a unit. I thought we had the best rhythm during those two games, so that helped me make those records in a way.”

Again, to Walsh it was about the team accomplishment. But make no mistake, her individual talents made a big impact on any game she played in.

“The things we were able to do defensively as a team were 100 percent because of her, and I think the ways teams attacked us and had to prepare for us were different because of her,” Damato said. “In my opinion, she had the biggest impact on high school water polo this year, in what she was able to do for our team.”

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COACH OF THE YEAR

Brian Melstrom

Newport Harbor

Melstrom surprised some by announcing that he was retiring from coaching less than two weeks after leading Newport Harbor to the CIF Southern Section Division 2 title, the program’s sixth. Melstrom, in his third year in charge, got to go out on top. Give him credit for helping the Sailors (18-9) navigate through an up-and-down season. They finished the season with five straight wins against Division 2 opponents, including a crucial Sunset League win against Huntington Beach to start the run and a 4-3 win over Santa Barbara in the Division 2 title match to end it.

FIRST TEAM

Chloe Harbilas

UTIL | Corona del Mar | Sr.

Harbilas was one of the best field players in CIF as a senior for the Sea Kings (22-8), helping them finish sixth in Division 1 and advance to the CIF Southern California Regional Division II semifinals. The co-captain, bound for Stanford, earned her second straight Pacific Coast League MVP award after scoring a team-best 115 goals, along with 63 steals, 25 assists and 15 field blocks. She had one of her best games in an overtime loss to Foothill in the Division 1 quarterfinals, scoring four goals in the fourth quarter to force the overtime period. Harbilas was an Irvine Southern California Championships all-tournament selection, earned All-CIF accolades and is a three-time Dream Team selection.

Sophia Lucas

C | Laguna Beach | Sr.

The USC-bound Lucas played a good amount of center this season following the graduation of Aria Fischer, last year’s Dream Team Player of the Year. Also known as a shutdown defender, the third-year starter led Laguna Beach with team-best totals of 67 goals and 42 steals, adding 25 assists. Lucas had one of her best games in her last one, scoring four goals as the Breakers beat Los Alamitos 11-6 to win the CIF Southern California Regional Division II title. An Irvine Southern California Championships all-tournament team selection, she was a first-team All-Orange Coast League selection and also All-CIF Southern Section Division 1. Lucas is a repeat Dream Team selection.

Erin Tharp

GK | Corona del Mar | Sr.

Tharp always seemed to be smiling out of the water, but in it she was one of the best goalies in CIF. In her second year as the Sea Kings’ starting keeper, the USC-bound Tharp earned first-team All-Pacific Coast League honors. She was an all-tournament team selection at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions after helping CdM place fifth, rebounding from a tournament quarterfinal loss to Orange Lutheran for impressive victories over Santa Barbara San Marcos and Los Alamitos. Tharp is a repeat Dream Team selection.

Jessica Lynch

ATT | Newport Harbor | Sr.

Lynch, the Sailors’ team captain, scored the game-winning goal with three seconds left helped Newport Harbor beat Santa Barbara 4-3 for the CIF Southern Section Division 2 title. But Lynch, a versatile player bound for UC Irvine, was a leader all season for the Sailors with team-best totals of 57 goals, 33 assists and 32 steals. She was a first-team All-Sunset League selection and also All-CIF Division 2. This is her third straight Dream Team selection.

Evan Tingler

ATT | Laguna Beach | Sr.

The Breakers ran plays through the Harvard-bound Tingler, who was a first-team All-Orange Coast League and first-team AII-CIF Southern Section Division 1 selection. She tied for second on the Breakers with 46 goals, adding a team-best 52 assists as well as 19 steals. Tingler had a game-high four goals as the Breakers edged Mater Dei 12-11 in overtime to win their fifth straight Holiday Cup title. This is her second straight Dream Team selection.

Sophie Wallace

ATT | Corona del Mar | Jr.

Wallace continued to progress offensively and defensively in her third year as a varsity contributor for CdM. She earned first-team All-Pacific Coast League honors and was also an all-tournament team selection at the Irvine Southern California Championships. Her goal with 33 seconds left lifted CdM to a 7-6 win over rival Newport Harbor in the Battle of the Bay game. Wallace was an All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 selection and is a repeat Dream Team honoree.

Briana Arostico

DEF | Los Amigos | Sr.

Arostico may have stood just 4 feet 11, but she was a big reason why Los Amigos advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 7 title game, just the second CIF finals appearance in program history. Arostico, a senior co-captain and left-hander, was named the Garden Grove League Defensive Player of the Year and helped Los Amigos (22-7) finish second in league. She was also a first-team All-CIF Division 7 selection.

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SECOND TEAM

GK Marina Hyham, Huntington Beach, Sr.

ATT Alana Evans, Laguna Beach, Sr.

ATT Ella Abbott, Corona del Mar, Jr.

ATT Kili Skibby, Newport Harbor, Jr.

ATT Nicca Falah, Huntington Beach, Jr.

UTIL Sofia Rice, Costa Mesa, Jr.

ATT Leyna Tran, Ocean View, Jr.

ATT Natalie Valentin, Los Amigos, Jr.

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo