Corona del Mar earns big upset at Foothill in season opener

The Justin Papa era began Friday night with a big upset win, one that the Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo team hopes will set the tone for a big season.

Papa, who played water polo at CdM and UC Irvine, coached his alma mater for the first time in a high school game. The Sea Kings had disadvantages coming in. The season opener was a road game and opponent Foothill already had four games under its belt.

But CdM looked like the fresher team in the second half. The Sea Kings blanked the Knights in the fourth quarter on their way to a 9-6 nonleague victory.

Junior Sophie Wallace shined all around with game-high totals of three goals, five steals and two assists for CdM. She helped the Sea Kings, who were tied for fifth in the initial CIF Southern Section Division 1 and 2 poll, earn the win over No. 4 Foothill (3-2).

But this was a team victory for the Sea Kings. Stanford-bound senior Chloe Harbilas, junior center Layne Anzaldo and freshman Grace Myers each scored twice for the Sea Kings, and junior Ella Abbott had a pair of assists.

USC-bound senior goalie Erin Tharp had 11 saves, an assist and a steal. Sophomore defender Megan Peterson also played well against the Knights and their talented centers, junior Noelle Wijnbelt and senior Val Ayala, who is bound for UCLA. The two players combined for just three goals.

“We made a couple of mistakes early,” said Papa, whose team fought from a goal down for much of the first half. “We did a good job correcting that and really helping out our young center defender, who’s really coming into her own. She’s figuring out how to guard big centers like that, someone who’s a great player like Noelle. But yeah, I thought the second half we did a great job of helping her out and bringing people back.”

Wijnbelt scored from center with 4:37 remaining in the third quarter, giving Foothill a 6-5 lead. But the Sea Kings would hold the Knights scoreless for the final 11-plus minutes of the game.

Wallace scored the tying goal on the power play, then Anzaldo scored inside on Harbilas’ assist to give the visitors a 7-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Chloe Harbilas was one of four Corona del Mar players who scored at least two goals against Foothill.

(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer )

CdM doubled the lead two minutes into the fourth quarter, when Tharp made a save then found Myers on a precision pass for a counterattack goal.

“I was really scared,” Myers said of her debut, as she has been in the USA Water Polo Olympic Development Program for about three years. “But after we started playing, my nerves eased and I was just playing the game.”

The final goal came with 2:12 remaining when Wallace scored another power-play goal from up top.

Papa said he’s challenged Tharp, in her second year as starter, to be the best goalie in the CIF Southern Section this season.

“There’s a couple of other girls who are really highly regarded as goaltenders, and I think she’s right there in that conversation,” Papa said. “Everyone talks about [Stanford-bound Laguna Beach senior goalie Thea Walsh] as kind of the benchmark in CIF this year, and that’s who I’m challenging her to beat out as the best goalie. She’s ready for it.”

The Sea Kings just hope they’re ready to challenge the defending Division 1 champion Breakers as a team by the end of the season. CdM’s second game of the season is also big, as the Sea Kings play host to Newport Harbor in the annual Battle of the Bay game next Friday at 5 p.m.

After beating Foothill, CdM will come into the rivalry game with momentum.

“I think it was a really good statement and set the tone for the rest of our season, coming out in our first game with a huge win against a team that was ranked above us,” Wallace said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo