Sailors barely survive

NEWPORT BEACH — As the skies got increasingly overcast and the winds picked up, the South Coast Tournament quarterfinal between Newport Harbor High and Riverside Poly began.

And, though the Sailors pulled out a 5-4 win Friday at Newport Harbor, Coach Jason Lynch didn’t exactly have the warmest mood after the game either.

True, his team advanced to today’s tournament semifinal against Villa Park at 11:45 a.m., also at Newport Harbor. But Lynch wasn’t happy that the Sailors (5-1) scored just one goal in the first half.

“For the most part, our defense was very good,” Lynch said. “They didn’t score until the third quarter. But on offense, we wasted the entire second quarter. We didn’t do a thing. We were just inept, basically. It’s the same problem we’ve been having — we’re just not syncing together as a team.

“We were totally disjointed. We’d set the ball when we shouldn’t, and we wouldn’t set it when we should. It was just super-frustrating.”

Luckily for the Sailors, the game against Riverside Poly (7-3) got more wide-open in the second half. That allowed the Tars’ second goal, when Brandon Parole (four steals) stole the ball and swam to the front of the goal. He was double-teamed, so Parole passed to Andy Hayes on the right side for the goal, which gave Newport a 2-1 advantage with 3:38 left in the third quarter.

Clinton Jorth (one goal, four steals) scored on Collin Sherman’s pass with 23 seconds left in the quarter, again giving Newport a 4-3 lead. But Riverside Poly again came back to tie the score.

Finally, Newport got the deciding goal on an alert play from Jorth. Midway through the fourth, he derailed a Poly counterattack with a steal, then fed Sherman near the goal. Sherman’s pass was to David Linden, who beat goalie Gavyn Wild for the game-deciding goal.

“Andy [Hayes] shot it, and his guy just left [on the counterattack],” Jorth said. “So I turned around and was hauling as fast I could, 100 miles per hour. I got the steal, then passed it back toward the goalie. Everyone else was going 100% back that way; everyone knew we needed that goal.”

What the Sailors need today in the semifinals, Lynch said, is more plays like that.

“We’re moving on, but we’re definitely going to have to do a better job to compete in the top four,” he said.

Senior Colin McKibbin had two goals to lead the Sailors.

The tournament championship game is scheduled for today at 4:05 p.m., also at Newport Harbor.

South Coast Tournament

Quarterfinal

Newport Harbor 5, Riverside Poly 4

SCORE BY QUARTERS

P – Marshall 1, Ballard 1, Boling 1, Hines 1. Saves – Wild 7.

NH – McKibbin 2, Jorth 1, Hayes 1, Linden 1. Saves – Christian 7.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].