Foothill Struggles but Hangs On to Beat Canyon

The Foothill girls’ water polo team entered the fourth quarter with a three-goal lead, but needed some key defensive stops in the closing minutes to hold onto a 7-6 victory over Canyon in a Century League game Tuesday at Foothill.

“They fought us to the bitter end,” Foothill Coach Dave Mikesell said. “They played a very good game.”

It was the second time in a row that Foothill was shut out in the final quarter. The Knights (9-6, 2-1) were outscored, 3-0, in a nonleague game Friday against third-ranked Newport Harbor and lost, 7-3.

Against Canyon, the Knights had a comfortable lead entering the fourth quarter after breaking a 3-3 tie with four consecutive goals during a 3-minute 24-second span of the third.

But Canyon’s Christine McDonald scored her second goal of the game from mid-pool with eight seconds left in the third quarter, and Nicole Miller had an advantage goal with 4:09 left in the fourth to cut the lead to two.

After Foothill’s Teresa Gorbett hit the post on a shot attempt, Canyon goalkeeper Jamie Hamilton threw a perfect pass the length of the pool to Lauren Volcan, who pulled Canyon within one with 2:47 remaining.

Canyon (14-4, 2-1) tried the same counterattack on its next possession, but Foothill goalkeeper Becky Helm got to the ball first for one of her four fourth-quarter saves. The Comanches had two more possessions in the final minute but turned the ball over with the shot clock winding down on the first and Jackie Coberly ended the other threat with a steal with 25 seconds remaining.

“A win is a win,” Mikesell said. “That’s what we wanted, to get out of here with a win.”

Jackie Pirro scored three goals and Daylene Coberly had two for Foothill.