Girls’ Water Polo: Breakers pull away against CdM
Before two big nonleague games this weekend, the Laguna Beach High girls’ water polo team was dealt a blow on Thursday during practice.
Junior Sophia Lucas fractured her index finger, Coach Ethan Damato said, and is out indefinitely.
“It happened in the last 10 minutes of practice [Thursday] night,” Damato said. “Poor timing.”
The Breakers were without Lucas, who is fourth on the team with 29 goals, for Friday night’s nonleague game at Corona del Mar. They needed someone to step up.
Her name was Evan Tingler.
Tingler had three power-play goals in the first half, senior captain Aria Fischer scored five goals and the Breakers pulled away for a 13-7 victory, ahead of Saturday’s showdown at home against Mater Dei at 2 p.m.
Laguna Beach (16-0) is the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 1, and Mater Dei moved up to No. 2 this week. But first, the Breakers had to worry about the No. 7-ranked Sea Kings (9-5).
“I thought we got a lot of good looks on the cage, and for the most part, I thought we played really well defensively,” Laguna Beach Coach Ethan Damato said. “Some breakdowns in the first half, and hat’s off to [CdM], they capitalized on those breakdowns. But overall, I was pleased with the effort.
“We knew today was going to be a tough game. I thought we did a nice job matching up, like we have all year, especially without Sophia Lucas today. Some girls had to step up for us. I thought Evan Tingler had a great game offensively. Bella [Baldridge] and Claire [Sonne] had to do a little bit more defensively. I thought the girls did well tonight without her in the water.”
Breakers junior goalie Thea Walsh made 10 saves, while Baldridge had three goals and three steals for the winners. Sonne and Alex Perros also scored goals, with Sonne adding three assists. Junior defender Isabel Riches had two steals.
Tingler’s scoring output was the highest since the Breakers’ second game of the season, against Edison, when she scored five goals on Dec. 13. Against CdM, she helped the Breakers pull away after the first quarter.
“When I see an open lane, I’m going to take it,” Tingler said. “We’ve been working a lot on six-on-five, and I’m up top a lot. I want to show people that I can shoot too, and I’m going to put away those shots, especially when we don’t have Sophia and we need extra goals. I knew I needed to step up in this game, especially offensively.”
For a while, it was interesting. Laguna scored the game’s first three goals before CdM responded. Senior Emily Ritner fed sophomore Layne Anzaldo at center, then CdM senior Jaleh Moaddeli scored a lob on the counterattack late in the first quarter to pull her team within 3-2.
Even after Laguna pulled away, the final margin Friday night was six goals. The only team that has played Laguna closer is Mater Dei, which lost to the Breakers, 11-6, in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions final last weekend.
“It was exciting,” said CdM junior goalie Erin Tharp, who shined with 14 saves and a pair of steals. “I knew we wanted to come out from the start, really hard and don’t let up. That’s what Coach [Kevin] Ricks told us. I thought we did a really good job of that, and not getting frustrated after we got scored on. I thought we did a nice job coming back, not letting up at all.
“It’s an exciting place to be. We can see the light, you know? We know that what we’re doing is working, and if we keep working hard that it’ll be good.”
Laguna Beach, though, pulled away by halftime. Tingler’s power-play strike, then a redirect by Fischer on six-on-five gave the Breakers a 5-2 advantage. Fischer added a rebound goal before Tingler struck again on extra, assisted by Baldridge, to give the Breakers a 7-2 lead late in the second quarter.
The Breakers were able to hold CdM’s top three scorers — Chloe Harbilas, Moaddeli and Sophie Wallace — to a combined one goal. Laguna also capitalized by converting six of its first seven power-play opportunities, finishing six for nine.
But there were other highlights for CdM, namely the play of Anzaldo, who had three goals from center.
“She’s been working really, really hard on trying to keep a side,” Tharp said. “Her hard work is paying off and she played really well. I think we’re all working really hard as a team. Coach Ricks has been telling us, ‘Just execute the system and you’ll get there.’ I think that’s working out. We might not be getting wins against Laguna, but we’re getting close.”
Ritner and fellow senior captain Kelly Morgan added the other two goals for the Sea Kings.
As for Laguna Beach, the Breakers will again be sans Lucas for Saturday’s game against Mater Dei. They will again need other players to step against the Monarchs, who are coming off a 9-8 win over No. 3-ranked San Marcos on Thursday.
“For us, Mater Dei is always a tough game,” Tingler said. “They’re super-physical, and we usually try to break them with our speed and our counterattack. But it’s always a tough matchup, and [Saturday] is especially important. It’s our home pool, and we need to defend that.”
