Haralabidis sisters, Daboub, Peterson help USC win national title

Corona del Mar High alumna Stephania Haralabidis scored the game-winning goal with six seconds left from near half-tank, lifting the USC women’s water polo team to the NCAA national championship, 8-7, over Stanford on Sunday at UCLA’s pool.

It was the fifth goal of the game for Haralabidis, a junior left-hander who earned NCAA Tournament MVP honors.

Haralabidis’ twin sister, Ioanna, also earned NCAA All-Tournament First Team honors. Newport Beach native Brianna Daboub, a sophomore driver who also scored a goal in the title match for the Trojans, was a NCAA All-Tournament Second Team selection.

Junior center Avery Peterson, a Newport Harbor High alumna, also contributed for Coach Jovan Vavic’s Trojans, who capped a perfect 26-0 season and won the program’s fifth national title.

Stanford (23-6) had junior driver Cassidy Papa, a CdM alumna, as a contributor.

UCLA women’s water polo beat Michigan, 5-4, in the national third-place match. Senior goalie Alex Musselman, another CdM alumna, made two saves in the final minute and eight saves overall to preserve the win. The Bruins also had Newport Harbor alumni Elissia Schilling, Rachel Whitelegge and goalie Carlee Kapana as contributors, while Newport Harbor alumna Christina O’Beck and CdM alumna Sami Pratt played for Michigan.

— Matt Szabo