University Squeaks Into the Final

The University girls’ water polo team staged a dramatic fourth-quarter rally to send its Southern Section Division IV semifinal against Santa Monica to overtime and won, 8-7, Thursday at Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach.

Third-seeded University (17-11) will play top-seeded Rosary Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach in a rematch of last year’s Division III final, won by Rosary.

Trailing, 6-3, with 4 minutes 28 seconds left in regulation, the Trojans called a timeout.

Samantha Klau, Hayley Sudeith and Marion Gee each scored in the next 1:12 to tie the score, 6-6. After each team scored in the first three-minute overtime and neither scored in the second, the game went to three-minute sudden-death periods.

“A lot of [the seniors] were looking at each other thinking that this could be our last game,” said senior goalie Amy Hilts, who made 22 saves. “We said, ‘No way, this won’t be our last game.’ ”

However, it was a sophomore, Klau, who put the game away.

On the first possession of the second sudden-death period, Morgan Voeltz took the ball out to the left side and Klau drove toward the goal on the right side. Voeltz spotted Klau and delivered a pass.

Santa Monica goalie Cindy Ayala, in a move that had worked twice in the previous overtime periods, came out of the goal in an attempt to steal the ball, but Voeltz’s pass was right on target and 16 seconds into the period, Klau pushed it into the empty goal.

“These girls played with a lot of heart,” University Coach Mike Reid said. “Ask anyone who has played us, never count us out of a game. You never know what this team will pull out of its hat. When we get to the fourth quarter, the other team gets tired, but we get fired up.”

That appeared to be what happened Thursday. Santa Monica, which led, 4-2, at halftime and 5-3 after three quarters, ran counterattack after counterattack in the early part of the game.

But Hilts kept University close. She stuffed one-on-one shots three times and made eight of her saves during Santa Monica man-advantage situations. Santa Monica scored on only one of nine power-play opportunities.

On one such possession, in the last minute of the first sudden-death period, Hilts lunged right to tip out a Marta Alamira shot, stuffed a Cynthia McLaughlin shot and then stopped Alamira again on the McLaughlin rebound.

In the other Division IV semifinal:

Rosary 10, Palos Verdes Penisula 7--Rosary jumped out to a 7-1 lead. Junior Natalie Golda scored six goals for the Royals.