Sea Kings still undefeated

CORONA DEL MAR — The wind can drive you crazy.

Playing Corona del Mar High in girls’ water polo and having to go against the wind in the second half proved too maddening for Foothill to handle Saturday.

The Sea Kings ran away with a 9-1 nonleague home victory to improve to 11-0 on the season.

CdM, which is expected to be the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division I when the new poll is released, turned it on after leading 3-1 at halftime.

Margot Money said it had been 10 days since CdM last played a match. The Sea Kings were itching to continue where they last left off on New Year’s Eve.

CdM throttled Foothill and showcased a balanced attack, seven players scoring goals from the perimeter.

It seemed everything went the Sea Kings’ way.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Foothill Coach Dave Mikesell had enough. An official earlier warned him for yelling.

Mikesell continued and he paid for it, receiving a yellow card.

“I’m just not in a good mood,� said Mikesell before laughing. “Going into a game like this and knowing full well that [we’re] already overmatched, and we’re already down, [8-1], at the time, and I’m not getting [calls for my girls] … I’m going to say something.

“I try not to scream at the officials. That’s the first yellow card I’ve had like in five years.�

Picking up yellow cards might be a rarity for Mikesell, but seeing his Knights drop another one to CdM is becoming a habit.

For the second time this season, Foothill (5-5) was blown out by the Sea Kings. Dating back to last season, Mikesell said the recent setback makes it five straight losses to CdM and the Knights have nothing to pout about.

CdM, the Division I runner-up last season, is the team to beat. Coach Aaron Chaney won’t admit it at this stage of the season because there’s a lot of water polo left.

Next week is the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions, an event where all the section powers meet.

No team will be as loaded as the Sea Kings are with NCAA Division I talent. And that’s something Chaney recognizes, saying goalie Kate Baldoni is headed to Stanford, Heather Van Hiel to UCLA, Victoria Kennedy to Stanford and Elise Molnar to Harvard.

Chaney said two other players, Erica Wheeler and Kate Berry, have been accepted to Michigan, and Leslee Kaczmarek is deciding between UCLA and UC Santa Barbara.

Each of those star players contributed to the Sea Kings’ success. Molnar and Money led the team in goals, finishing with two each.

During the limited times Foothill found an opening to attack, Baldoni stopped practically every shot and recorded 13 saves.

Only once did the senior allow a goal, coming 64 seconds into the second quarter as utility player Brittany Zwirner scored on a power-play situation to tie the game at 1-1.

Molnar and Kaczmarek each found the back of the cage before halftime, giving CdM a 3-1 advantage. At this point, things still looked promising for Foothill.

“I was happy for two quarters,� Mikesell said.

Chaney wasn’t so satisfied.

The Sea Kings started slow and it might have been due to the long layoff, Foothill using different defensive schemes, or playing against the wind in the first half.

Chaney focused on the wind, the type he’s experienced before and always seems to create problems for an offense.

“It’s hard,� said Chaney, comparing the conditions to those in windy Hawaii, where he has spent time. “[Foothill] had a hard time getting off in the second half.�

Money didn’t have such a tough time for CdM. The junior was money in the first two minutes of the third quarter.

Money scored twice during the span and then Kennedy added a goal, putting the match away as CdM went ahead, 6-1.

“We knew that we had to pick it up,� Money said.

Against Foothill in the first meeting, coming in the semifinals of the Holiday Cup, Money scored twice in the Sea Kings’ 8-3 victory.

The match back then was tight, CdM up, 3-2, with 4:59 left before halftime. But just as the Sea Kings delivered the knockout blow on New Year’s Eve, the Knights felt it again Saturday.

The blow felt a lot harder than those winds.

Nonleague

Corona del Mar 9, Foothill 1

SCORE BY QUARTERS

FH – Zwirner 1. Saves – Groff 5.

CdM – Money 2, Molnar 2, Van Hiel 1, Kent 1, Kennedy 1, Kaczmarek 1, Eadington 1. Saves – Baldoni 13.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].