Newport Harbor wins second straight CIF Open Division boys' water polo title

The Newport Harbor High boys' water polo team celebrates after winning the CIF Southern Section Open Division Championship.

Newport Harbor hangs on for 10-9 win over JSerra and wins back-to-back CIF titles in the top division.

Daily Pilot

Nov. 12, 2022 6:47 PM PT

IRVINE — “Next man up” has been the mantra all season for the Newport Harbor High boys’ water polo team.

Defending the CIF Southern Section Open Division title would take a team effort. That truth manifested itself in very real ways Saturday afternoon as the No. 2-seeded Sailors took on top-seeded JSerra for the championship.

Two starters fouled out in the second half for Newport Harbor.

Next man up, as player after player provided big moments off the bench in the fourth quarter.

Junior Trey Smith scored on a post-up move, before senior left-hander Nick Kennedy provided a goal on a strong shot for a three-goal advantage.

The Newport Harbor High boys' water polo team is all smiles after winning the championship game against JSerra on Saturday.

When Newport Harbor needed defense at the end, another substitute provided it, with junior Jack Wright getting a key field block with 20 seconds left after JSerra brought goalkeeper Jack Halfer into the front court.

It all added up to another championship in the top division for the Sailors, who earned a 10-9 victory before an overflow crowd at Woollett Aquatics Center.

The second straight title is the 14th CIF title overall for Newport Harbor (28-2).

“I’m so proud of these guys,” said Newport Harbor coach Ross Sinclair, who has now won three Open Division championships (two with the boys and one with the girls) in the last three high school water polo seasons. “It’s a gauntlet. There’s no easy game. We had to grind against Huntington, we battled against [Harvard-Westlake] and we had another amazing battle against JSerra. These guys are amazing. Relentless, resilient, every attribute you can name, these guys are it.”

Newport Harbor's Finn Genc (9) celebrates after a score during the Sailors' title win over JSerra on Saturday.

UCLA-bound senior left-hander Ben Liechty scored a team-high three goals for Newport Harbor, matching JSerra junior Ryder Dodd for match-high honors. Newport senior goalkeeper Cooper Mathisrud made nine big saves, including one on a Dodd penalty shot with four minutes left in the match.

At the time, it preserved a two-goal advantage.

“We put in hours and hours at practice every week,” said Mathisrud, a two-year starter. “My team has some of the best shooters you’ll see in high school water polo, and I’m taking shots from them for a couple of hours a day every day. When it comes down to this, I feel more than prepared.”

Senior Finn LeSieur had a goal and four assists for the Sailors. Junior center Peter Castillo and junior defender Gavin Appeldorn each had a goal before fouling out.

Newport Harbor goalie Cooper Mathisrud (1) leaps to make a save during the Sailors' match against JSerra on Saturday.

Newport Harbor, which had split two previous meetings this season with JSerra, didn’t blink. Senior Gavin Netherton also contributed an assist off the bench for the winners, and grabbed the rebound after Wright’s late field block.

“It’s just filling the role,” Liechty said. “It doesn’t matter who it is. It just matters what you’re supposed to do, and do it to the best of your ability. I think that was a great situation to overcome, and I think we did that perfectly. Other guys were able to step up and fill that position.”

JSerra (27-3) tried to respond, even after Kennedy’s goal gave the Sailors a 10-7 advantage with 3:34 left. A Lions steal led to a counterattack goal by junior center Will Schneider. Then, Bode Brinkema put away a quick shot after a Newport Harbor turnover, pulling JSerra within 10-9 with 1:50 left.

But the equalizer never came. JSerra coach Brett Ormsby, a 2004 Olympian, gave credit to the Sailors after the match.

Newport Harbor's Trent Smith (3) shoots during Saturday's CIF title match against JSerra.

“[The Sailors], they’re champions,” Ormsby said. “They were champions before this game. That’s the reality. They won it last year, and I thought there was a determination. Physically, I thought they were more aggressive than us in key moments.”

Newport Harbor’s players posed for pictures after the match. They also received a phone call from Mason Hunt, last year’s senior captain who now plays for Harvard.

Hunt would be proud of the team camaraderie this year’s Sailors showed, too.

“You can see that we all know how to play together,” LeSieur said. “No matter who’s in, no matter who’s out of the game with three ejections, we can still keep control and play together. That’s a testament to our brotherhood. You can’t fake that.”

Newport Harbor's Ben Liechty (13) gives out a yell after scoring against JSerra during Saturday's championship match.

There was nothing fake about the championship plaque for Newport Harbor. The Sailors will now more than likely be the top seed in the CIF State Southern California Regional Division I playoffs, which start Tuesday.

They will approach that season-ending tournament with the same mentality as they have every match.

Next man up. That’s the kind of attitude that gets a program to 14 CIF championships.

“It’s an expectation to play at a high level, to train at a high level, to buy in at a high level and be committed,” Sinclair said. “I don’t mean it in an arrogant way, and I’m not putting crazy expectations on every single year, but kids come into this program knowing what they sign up for and the legacy that they have to uphold.

“It’s awesome. It’s an amazing feeling.”

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