Girls’ Water Polo: CdM hangs on against Newport Harbor
Corona del Mar High senior center Bridgett Storm isn’t one to shy away from the contact in a girls’ water polo game.
Of course, Friday night’s game wasn’t just any game. The Sea Kings’ season opener was also the Battle of the Bay game against rival Newport Harbor.
After the contest, Storm said she conferred with her good friend and another future UCLA Bruin. Former CdM star Maddie Musselman, now playing with the U.S. senior national team this week at the Holiday Cup tournament, had some advice.
“She came up to me and she was like, ‘Girl, you’ve got to shoot more,’” Storm said with a smile.
Storm made the shots she took count. She led everyone in the game with four goals. Her six-on-five strike midway through the fourth quarter stood up as the game-winner as the Sea Kings beat the Sailors, 9-8, in a nail-biter at CdM’s pool.
CdM (1-0), ranked No. 5 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 poll, got all it could handle from No. 9 Newport Harbor (1-3) on both ends of the pool. The Sailors rallied from three goals down early in the second half, tying the score at 8-8 when senior Sammie Garcia converted a penalty shot drawn by co-captain Katie Kearns with 4:38 left in the contest.
On the other end, Storm had an answer. She drew her sixth exclusion of the game and scored from the outside, giving CdM a 9-8 lead with 3:01 remaining. The goal would stand up until the very end, when Newport Harbor got the ball back with nine seconds left and Coach Brian Melstrom called timeout.
The Sailors ran a trick play that featured Garcia going under water. She popped up unguarded about six meters out and took the pass from senior goalie Maddy Kanzler, but her shot was saved by CdM senior goalie Heidi Ritner at the buzzer. It was the 11th save of the game for the University of Michigan-bound Ritner.
“It’s tough, because it’s a rivalry game and it’s the first game of the year,” first-year CdM Coach Kevin Ricks said. “But the girls were really excited about it, because last year they were on the other side of that [losing three one-goal games to Newport Harbor]. I think especially for Bridgett and Heidi, who were a part of those games, it was an opportunity for redemption and to kind of reignite that torch and get us off on the right foot this season.”
The Sea Kings don’t pick up the win without Storm, who drew six of the Sea Kings’ seven power-play opportunities. CdM was four for seven with the extra player, while Newport Harbor converted two of five chances.
“I didn’t realize that [the last goal] was the game-winning goal until I was in the locker room,” Storm said. “It’s just so crazy to me. Last year, I got 23 goals in total the whole entire season, and now I’m getting four goals in one game. It’s so exciting to me, that I finally got the opportunity to step up and be one of the main girls for the team.”
CdM only trailed in the game for 12 seconds. The Sailors took a 2-1 lead late in the first quarter on Garcia’s goal from six meters, but CdM’s Jaleh Moaddeli answered on the next possession.
The Sea Kings seemed to take control later, opening up a 5-3 halftime advantage and making it 6-3 on Storm’s power-play goal early in the third. The lead was 8-6 after three quarters, but again Newport Harbor came back. Sophomore Kaela Whelan scored her second goal of the game to cut the deficit in half, before Garcia’s penalty-shot strike.
To Melstrom, the fourth quarter was encouraging after the Sailors had a bad fourth quarter last week in a 10-6 loss at No. 4-ranked Foothill. That game was tied at 5-5 after three quarters.
“Our big emphasis was whether we could show the energy in the fourth quarter that we needed to give ourselves a chance at the end,” Melstrom said. “I think we made a big step in the right direction tonight, by showing pride and courage in the fourth quarter ... I’m just really proud of the girls. Regardless of the loss, we are moving in the right direction.”
Moaddeli (two goals and assist) and junior defender Sarah Lawson (two assists) combined to win all four sprints for CdM, which also proved big. In each of the first three quarters, Storm was able to draw a power play on that first possession of the quarter, which ended up netting the Sea Kings two goals.
Storm and Heidi Ritner said they were proud of CdM’s younger players, who stepped up when it counted. Juniors Emily Ritner and Kelly Morgan each had key goals for Corona del Mar, and sophomore Chloe Harbilas had a goal and two steals.
“I was super-proud of all the girls, because we graduated our entire starting lineup [besides myself],” Heidi Ritner said. “Even though most of the girls haven’t played varsity before, they’ve been playing together for a really long time. They know how each other play. I was really proud that they could take it up to the next level of varsity and take care of business.”
Kearns, Garcia and Whelan each scored twice to lead Newport Harbor, and Kearns also drew three exclusions. Kanzler, a co-captain, made seven saves and had three steals. Melstrom also highlighted the play of sophomores Jessica Lynch (a goal and five steals) and Sarah Barker, who also were in the starting lineup.
“I thought overall we did a really good job of two-meter defense,” Melstrom said of defending Storm, who scored none of her four goals from center. Three came from up top on the six-on-five, and the other came on the counterattack.
“A good center is going to get good position throughout the game,” Melstrom said. “You can’t shut somebody down completely, but for the most part I thought we held her to what we needed to. Maybe if we could have prevented one more goal from her, it would have been the difference.”
Storm knows the difference in Friday’s game was narrow. She looks forward to playing the Sailors again down the road and showed respect to her Back Bay rival on Twitter after the game.
“Mad respect for @NHHSGirlsPolo,” Storm tweeted from her handle, @BrigdettStorm, after the game. “You guys played [a] hell of a game. Can’t wait for our next match up.”
