Marina Shocks Previously Unbeaten Wilson

Marina needed to play its best to have a chance to upset top-seeded Long Beach Wilson in the Southern Section Division I girls’ water polo championship game Monday at Belmont Plaza.

Not only was Marina sharp, Wilson wasn’t. So the result was an unexpected and lopsided 7-3 victory for the second-seeded Vikings.

Senior goalie Candice Chick anchored Marina’s defense, making eight saves, and senior Jenny Lamb (six steals, one goal) and freshman Cara Chlebicki (three steals, two goals) also played major roles in a performance that frustrated Wilson into its worst shooting night of the season.

“We picked the wrong night to have a bad shooting game,” Wilson Coach Ricardo Azevedo said. “We usually shoot about 80%. Tonight, I don’t know if we shot 10%. But give Marina the credit, they executed very well.”

Marina (23-5) scored the first three goals, and the defense held Wilson (27-1) scoreless for the first 11 minutes and the final 12.

Marina’s balanced offense also got goals from senior Rebecca Miller, junior Lauren Muschetto and freshmen Erin Wilson and Kendra Shanley.

Everything seemed to be going the Vikings’ way. Wilson pushed Marina’s halftime lead to 4-1, scoring on a shot from mid-pool that skipped past Wilson goalie Kelsey Whalen and inside the right goal post.

“I’m in shock,” Marina Coach Dave Carlson said. “This is huge. We did everything that we practiced and brought it to the pool tonight . . . I mean, Wilson is the most talented team around and we won, 7-3?

“I think that’s pretty impressive. It’s unexpected.”

It was the third meeting between the teams. Wilson won an early-season meeting, 8-3, then needed overtime to defeat Marina, 6-4, in the championship game of the Irvine Southern California Championships tournament one month ago.

“It took us three times before we beat Los Alamitos and Santa Barbara too,” Carlson said. “Defense has been winning games for us all year. Tonight, Chick played the game of her life.”

Chick made numerous big saves at crucial times to keep the Vikings in control.

Wilson kept trying to make it closer, but it either misfired or ran into Chick.

Protecting a 6-3 lead in the fourth quarter, Chick made two saves on shots by Wilson’s Mica Bell (two goals) in a 39-second span to keep it a three-goal cushion. Shanley added the final goal, scoring with 22 seconds remaining.

“I was just waiting for that final buzzer to go off so we could start celebrating,” Chick said. “We haven’t let down all season, but now we can.”