Wesley’s lobs help Lightning strike for win

CORONA DEL MAR — Sage Hill School junior Sarah Wesley calls her lob shot a “crapshoot.”

Technically, it’s not a high-percentage shot in girls’ water polo. But that doesn’t stop Wesley from shooting it.

“I usually get one of those a game, one half-court lob,” Wesley said. “I get yelled at a lot for it, but one of them always seems to go in.”

Wednesday’s “crapshoot” from near mid-pool was a big one, tying an important Orange Coast League game against Estancia just 11 seconds before halftime. Sage Hill went on to win the game, 8-7, at Corona del Mar High, keeping its hopes for a CIF Southern Section Division II playoff spot very much alive.

Wesley added another lob shot with five minutes and 20 seconds left in the third quarter, this one a little closer in and from the left. That goal gave the Lightning (7-5, 1-2 in league) a 6-5 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

She also had six steals in the game, with Casey Beane and Dylan Conroy adding two each. Conroy and two-meter player Cameron Cline each had three goals for Sage Hill.

Estancia (9-6, 0-3 in league) was playing without starting goalie Emily Kaplan, who was sick. But the Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 lead on Meagan Kunert’s second goal with 2:14 left in the first quarter.

Sage Hill was still down, 4-1, as the quarter ended.

“I told the girls that if we stick to our game plan then we’ll be fine,” Lightning Coach Tom Norton said. “I told them, ‘We’re down 4-1. But if they can score four goals in a quarter, then we can score four goals, too.’”

Sage Hill almost did just that, scoring three unanswered goals to knot the score at four-all at halftime.

“We just came together and pressed harder,” Cline said. “We really got into it, I guess.”

Cline scored just 57 seconds into the third quarter, giving the Lightning a 5-4 lead before Melissa Buchmann (four goals) answered for Estancia.

But then came Wesley’s second lob goal of the game and back-to-back goals from Conroy. The second, on a counterattack after a steal, gave Sage Hill an 8-5 lead headed into the fourth quarter.

“The steals are great,” Wesley said. “We did a great job recognizing early that they were driving across with the pick, and we did a good job crashing back on that.”

Estancia pulled within a single goal when Buchmann scored a rebound off Shea Kopp’s shot with 4:51 left. But the Eagles couldn’t draw closer, failing to get a shot off on their last possession.

“We probably missed 10 good shots on goal,” Estancia Coach Bob Bandaruk said. “We make those, it’s a totally different ballgame. The girls were excited at the start of the game, but that’s kind of how our season’s gone. If they’re excited, they’re good.”

Jordan Smith-Newman made nine saves for Sage Hill, including a penalty-shot save. Michelle Parsons recorded seven saves for Estancia.

For Sage Hill, the win meant a little extra, after enduring a midseason coaching change, when Aleah Amr stepped down for personal reasons.

“We proved that we can stick together as a team, even when it gets tough,” Wesley said.

Orange Coast League

Sage Hill 8, Estancia 7

Score by Quarters

Estancia

4

0

1

2

—

7

Sage Hill

1

3

4

0

—

8

Estancia -- Buchmann 4, Kunert 2, Leon 1. Saves -- M. Parsons 7.

Sage Hill -- Cline 3, Conroy 3, Wesley 2. Saves -- Smith-Newman 9.