Girls’ Water Polo: CdM routs Eagles
The Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo team found out Tuesday morning that its season opener was unexpectedly going to be a home game.
The issue was a faulty water heater at the pool at Santa Margarita High. But, at their own pool, the Sea Kings turned up the heat in the second half of the nonleague contest.
Senior Jaleh Moaddeli and sophomore Sophie Wallace each scored four goals as CdM routed the Eagles, 10-3.
While other teams have been playing in several games or even tournaments early in the season, the Sea Kings have just been training and playing against themselves. They also were eager to get in a game before the Battle of the Bay against rival Newport Harbor, which is Friday at 5 p.m. at Newport Harbor.
“We’re all definitely pumped for Battle of the Bay now,” said CdM junior Chloe Harbilas, who had a goal, three steals and at least four exclusions drawn against Santa Margarita. “We’ve got our first game down, and we’re ready for Newport.”
CdM (1-0), ranked No. 7 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, did not have much trouble against No. 9 Santa Margarita (3-1). The Sea Kings earned a 3-0 halftime lead and extended to that with a five-goal third quarter.
After going scoreless in five first-half power-play chances, the third quarter included three different power-play goals. Wallace, senior Emily Ritner and Moaddeli did the honors.
Many of the CdM goals throughout the contest were set up by senior Sarah Lawson, who registered eight assists.
“She’s like the quarterback of our team,” Harbilas said. “When we’re on six-on-five, she’s the one who reads the plays, and she’s a really intelligent player. She knows where to make the passes. It’s just not who’s scoring; you have to get the ball to the scorer. That’s the link that we need. She’s very unselfish.”
Junior goalie Erin Tharp made seven saves and added a steal, anchoring a CdM defense that did not allow a goal until Jessica Leckich scored on six-on-five with 2:24 remaining in the third quarter. By then, CdM had a 7-0 advantage.
CdM Coach Kevin Ricks was happy with his team’s effort after he recorded a win against the school at which he formerly coached. Santa Margarita came into Tuesday’s game averaging 18 goals per contest.
“We knew we needed to really have our defense put together,” Ricks said. “I thought Erin played outstanding all four quarters, and did a good job of being a leader at that end of the pool.
“We played with a lot of energy in the first half, just not real crisp. We missed some opportunities, but then the girls did a real nice job in the third quarter of putting some good pressure on Santa Margarita. They created some turnovers that led to counterattack goals, and that was great to see. I think that’s one of our strengths, our ability to get up and down the pool.”
Moaddeli led CdM with five steals, including one of her trademark steals where she swipes a backward pass to the opposing goalie.
It’s a crafty play for a team that is hoping to rise from its No. 7 spot in the rankings.
“Being in seventh, it makes us want to work harder to finally be in the top three or four, where we think we should be,” Tharp said. “At seven, nobody probably thinks that we’re going to do very well, but watch out.”
The Sea Kings have to watch out for Newport Harbor on Friday night. Unlike CdM, the Sailors already have plenty of game experience. They improved to 6-0 with Tuesday’s win against Riverside Poly.
CdM knows to expect a close game. In last year’s Battle of the Bay, the underdog Sailors battled back from a three-goal deficit before the Sea Kings earned a 9-8 win.
“I’m really pumped,” Harbilas said. “We’ve been on edge to play in Battle of the Bay, because we haven’t had games [until Tuesday]. It’s Battle of the Bay; we’re ready. The rest of the week, we’re going to just practice and work out the last little kinks.”
