Big win for Sailors

A set guard is a sometimes overlooked but crucial part of any water polo team.

The two main set guards for Newport Harbor High girls’ water polo this year, Karis Couch and Kili Skibby, didn’t even play on varsity last year. Both were JV players.

But, three games into the season, it is obvious that both of the tough sophomores have stepped up to the task.

“They’re really good athletes,” Newport Harbor Coach Brian Melstrom said. “They’re smart, they’re gritty. They just play hard and they’re not afraid of anybody. You have to have girls that want to take on the other team’s best player, and both of those girls are those type of girls. They’re perfect for the job. All of our girls are like that. We don’t have a single girl who’s afraid of the challenge or one player on any given team.”

It will take rising to the challenge collectively, as a unit, for the Sailors to be successful. Early in the season, they are looking for respect, and they just might have found some of it Friday afternoon.

Newport Harbor never trailed in a 7-5 nonleague upset of Foothill at home, a big win for the relatively young Sailors.

The first CIF Southern Section Division 1 coaches’ poll has not been released, but Newport Harbor (3-0) was ranked just No. 9 in the Register’s first Orange County Top 10. Foothill (1-2) landed at No. 4.

Friday’s win was the first for Newport Harbor over Foothill in at least three years. The Sailors were a combined 0-6 against the Knights the last two seasons.

“I think people will now definitely think we’re a contender,” said Sailors junior Jessica Lynch, who led the way with two goals and two steals. “We should not necessarily be ranked ninth. We can beat these teams. We can play with them. We shouldn’t be ninth.”

Lynch, who leads the Sailors with 10 goals this season, had a solid game playing against many of her SOCAL club teammates on Foothill. Junior center Sarah Barker and Couch also scored two goals for Newport Harbor, which also got the first goal of the game from junior co-captain Kaela Whelan. Senior goalie Chloe Schilling made nine saves, adding a steal.

Senior co-captain Lissa Westerman had two assists and a steal for Newport Harbor.

In addition to the defense, Couch provided some goals that thrilled the Newport Harbor faithful, including a well-placed lob from the right side. She then struck from five meters to give the Sailors a 5-3 lead early in the third quarter.

“She’s doing awesome, all of our sophomores are,” Schilling said. “They’ve developed so quickly from the summer into this year. They’re amazing.”

Newport Harbor held just a 6-5 lead headed into the fourth quarter, but kept the Knights at bay. Another sophomore, Annie Rankin, had a big steal with 1:40 remaining in the game. On the other end of the pool, Rankin fed Barker, whose shot went off the right post and in to give the Sailors an insurance goal with 1:16 left in the contest.

Schilling, in her first year starting in goal, then saved a backhand attempt with less than a minute to go, before stealing an entry pass in the final 20 seconds to seal the victory.

“I’m super-stoked,” said Schilling, who had her older sister and former Sailors standout Elissia watching the action Friday. “Every game, I get so pumped up. I remember last year I would sit on the bench and wish I could go in, so it’s super-exciting [to start].”

Grace-Ann Pevehouse led Foothill with two goals and two steals, while Molly DiLalla made five saves. Foothill, a Division 1 finalist last year, wasn’t quite at full strength on Friday. Junior attacker Val Ayala is in New Zealand competing for Team USA at the FINA Youth World Championships, while junior center Noelle Wijnbelt is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury.

But Foothill Coach Jim Brumm gave credit to the hot-shooting Sailors.

“They shot the ball better than we did,” Brumm said. “It was a two-goal game, and I think that was basically the difference. They shot the ball really well ... and we’ve just got to play with a little bit more confidence. That comes with time.”

Newport Harbor next plays host to San Clemente on Thursday. The Sailors lost in the first round of the Division 1 playoffs last year, but they want to show that they are capable of competing with anyone in what appears to be a very deep Division 1 this season.

“To beat the Division 1 runner-up, it was a good win,” Melstrom said. “But we have room for a lot of improvement, which is the exciting part. We know that wasn’t our best. The girls know it, and they’re just going to continue to work hard and get better ... We’re starting to understand that we can play with that top tier.”