Newport Harbor, Laguna Beach girls’ water polo teams punch CIF finals tickets
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Newport Harbor High girls’ water polo coach Ross Sinclair challenged his standout center headed into Tuesday’s CIF Southern Section Open Division playoff semifinals.
He said he had sophomore Gabby Alexson do a lot of resistance band work to build up her leg strength.
“It’s all legs in that position ... we crushed her legs a little bit,” Sinclair said. “I said, ‘You’ve got to finish out of center at this level. Prove that you can finish.’”
Alexson and her Sailors teammates would give not just a leg, but an arm too to beat Orange Lutheran.
In the fourth overtime period, she took an excellent entry pass from fellow sophomore Madison Mack. Alexson turned, and she finished.
The sudden death game-winning goal sparked a wild upset as Newport Harbor knocked off two-time defending Open Division champion Orange Lutheran 12-11 at Orange Coast College.
The other semifinal match was also an upset, with Oaks Christian rallying to win at top-ranked Mater Dei in overtime by the same score.
“Two underdogs in the championship is so fun,” Alexson said with a smile.
Newport Harbor (24-5) will play Oaks Christian (21-7) for the Open Division title on Saturday at 12:10 p.m. at Mt. San Antonio College. The Sailors are 2-1 against the Lions this season.
Alexson and fellow sophomore Valery Verdugo each scored three goals Tuesday night for the Sailors, with Verdugo adding a team-best six assists.
Orange Lutheran had won five straight against Newport Harbor, including last year’s Open Division semifinal match, and led 10-8 late in regulation Tuesday. But a rare six-on-three goal by freshman Addison Ting brought Newport Harbor within a goal with 1:55 left.
Verdugo, who Sinclair said played the role of floor general throughout the match, then scored the tying goal with 21 seconds left.
Alexson scored on Verdugo’s assist in the first overtime period, before Orange Lutheran’s Jailynn Robinson answered on the power play.
“My biggest thing is just we want a ring on our seniors,” Verdugo said. “It’s their last one, and it’s our last one with them. We work so hard and put in so many hours. Anything I can do in this type of environment to help motivate is what I focus on, because you can get in your head or focus on other things. It’s important to stay focused on what’s in front of you.”
Fellow sophomore Emerson Mulvey and senior Harper Price added a pair of goals for the Sailors, with Mack and Kennedy Fahey also scoring. Senior goalkeeper Lydia Soderberg made seven saves.
Liz Nicoloff, Estelle Karaba, Robinson and Eve Webb each scored twice for Orange Lutheran (23-4).
Sinclair said on-ball defense and staying present were key components for his young team, which played four sophomores and a freshman deep into overtime.
“It’s huge,” Alexson said. “I feel, like, electric right now. All of us, we’ve played together for so long, and I’m so proud of everyone. Last year, we were in the same situation, and we fell to OLu in the semifinals. Getting this opportunity to come back and beat them, they can’t get a three-peat anymore, which is really always nice. We’re in the finals now, and it feels so good.”
Laguna Beach 6, Dos Pueblos 2: The Breakers turned in perhaps their best defensive performance of the season in Tuesday’s Division 1 semifinal at El Toro High.
Laguna Beach (19-11) advanced to a CIF title match for the first time since 2022. The No. 2-seeded Breakers will play No. 4 San Clemente in the Division 1 championship game on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Mt. San Antonio College.
The Breakers and Tritons split two previous meetings this year.
Senior goalkeeper Siena Jumani made a season-high 13 saves Tuesday night for Laguna Beach to lead the defensive effort.
“We studied so much film,” Breakers coach Katie Teets said. “We’re really proud of that. Our team defense has been getting better and better all year, and that was a huge focus for us this week. My mind set is, you only need to score one goal to win a game if you play great defense. That wears teams down.”
Senior Presley Jones had two goals, two assists and two field blocks for Pacific Coast League champion Laguna Beach, which got one goal each from Kara Carver, Brooke Schneider, Rosie Rogers and Jumani.
Carver had a bit of a rough shooting night but made an impact in other ways, with six steals and four exclusions drawn. As for Jumani, she buried a goal into the lower right corner from mid-tank in the closing seconds of the first half to give Laguna Beach a 4-1 lead.
“I heard them saying, ‘Let her shoot,’ so I kind of just had to get back at them,” Jumani said. “They can’t let me shoot.”
Alina King and Devereaux Wigo scored the goals for Dos Pueblos (22-8), which was held scoreless in six power-play chances.
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