Girls’ Water Polo: Laguna’s run ends
The reign has come to an end.
Two-time defending CIF Southern Section Division 1 girls’ water polo champion Laguna Beach had its bid for a third consecutive title halted Wednesday in Irvine in the semifinal round of the playoffs.
The Breakers fell behind early to rival Foothill, rallied after halftime to tie the score, but the Knights scored what turned out to be the winning goal with 2:20 remaining, then withstood several last-minute shot attempts by the Breakers, to emerge with a 4-3 victory at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center.
Laguna overcame deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 to tie the score in the third quarter, but couldn’t convert scoring opportunities.
The loss ended a 27-3 campaign for the No. 1 seed in the division.
Foothill, ranked fifth, will take on second-seeded Orange Lutheran for the division title at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Woollett Aquatics Center.
In a defensive struggle where neither team shot well, the difference in the game came on power plays. Foothill (25-6) converted two of its first three six-on-five advantages, and finished two of six overall. Laguna, however, couldn’t convert in seven such situations.
The Breakers drew an exclusion with 29 seconds left, down by a goal. Junior left-handed attacker Bella Baldridge had her shot from the right side of the cage blocked by Foothill goalie Kenzie Snyder — her 11th save of the game, which went off the crossbar. In a scramble for the loose ball to the left side of the cage, utility player Dani Ayala, who raced back into play after her exclusion, and defender Grace Pevehouse, teamed to knock the ball away from the Breakers just before the game clock hit zero.
“Unfortunately, six-on-fives killed us most of the year, and that was the case tonight,” Damato said. “That’s on me. I told the girls after the game that I was sorry. We go 0 for whatever on six-on-fives, just got out-played.
“Foothill played well in the first half with their physicality. They played tough defensively and we had a problem with our shooting. We shot high and wide several times in the game.”
Foothill took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter on the strength of a power-play goal by defender Val Ayala, and utility player Lana Gorlinski scored on a counterattack with 42 seconds left in the quarter. Laguna finally got on the scoreboard when freshman attacker Sophie Leggett drilled a strike into the left side of the net to make it 2-1 with 4:05 left in the first half.
Down 3-1 at the half, Laguna turned up the defensive pressure and scored twice within a 30-second span of the third quarter to draw even. First, attacker Evan Tingler’s shot down the middle went into the goal off a field deflection. On the Breakers’ next possession, sophomore attacker Sophia Lucas skipped in the tying goal from the left side.
The score remained deadlocked until 2:20 in the fourth quarter when Pevehouse put Foothill in front for good with a solid shot into the lower-right corner. The Knights, however, had to hold on. In the final two minutes, Laguna had three potential tying goals bar-out into the playing field, including a final shot in the frantic, closing seconds.
Laguna senior goalie Holly Parker once again was outstanding in the cage, registering 10 saves in her final match.
The Breakers overcame some obstacles to turn in another outstanding year. They won the Holiday Cup championship, had their Orange County record winning streak of 63 games that spanned just over two years snapped, lost their No. 1 ranking, only to later regain it, and captured both the Irvine Southern California Championships tournament title and Orange Coast League crown. They then went on to defeat Irvine (20-3) and Mater Dei (9-7) in the postseason to again reach the semifinal round.
The program won the Holiday Cup and Irvine tournament titles each for the third-straight year.
In winning last year’s Division 1 crown, Laguna defeated Foothill in the final, completing a 5-0 record against the Knights last season. In a week’s span earlier this season, the Breakers defeated the Knights (10-4) in the title game of the Holiday Cup, then won a nonleague game (11-6) in the Foothill pool in early January.
Foothill shed those disappointments Wednesday.
When asked about the program’s streaks over the past few seasons, Damato, who was emotional for his team, said it was only about this moment.
“It’s all about tonight (Wednesday), this year,” he said. “I love this group of girls, and I hate to see them upset. It’s such a great group of seniors and I think that’s why this hurts so much.
“Things didn’t go our way tonight. That hasn’t happened for a while.”
