Sailors Overwhelm L.B. Wilson

Newport Harbor Coach Brian Kreutzkamp said he was worried that Long Beach Wilson would be fighting mad in the championship final of the South Coast boys’ water polo tournament at Newport Harbor High Saturday.

After all, just two weeks ago, the Sailors broke the Bruins’ 48-game winning streak in a sudden-death overtime game at Newport Harbor.

But instead of a lion, it was a lamb that faced Newport Harbor Saturday as the Sailors beat the short-handed defending Division I champion, 11-5.

“I was really surprised on just how well our team played,” said Kreutzkamp, whose team is ranked first in the county. “We knew this would be a tough contest. But a lot of credit has to go to the incredible goal-keeping by Tim Birdsong and the defensive play by our team.”

Birdsong, a senior, kept Wilson scoreless in the first half and finished with 13 saves, with many of those stops coming at close range. A tenacious defense kept Wilson’s two top players, Albert Garcia and James Shin, out of sync and ineffective throughout most of the game.

Garcia, the Bruins’ top scorer, finished with three goals and Shin had none. Scott Jones, with two, was the only other Bruin who scored.

Wilson continued to miss Tony Azevedo, one of the nation’s top prep players, who is with the U.S. national team preparing for the FINA World Cup and has yet to play for the Bruins this season.

“The first time we played them this year, we were scared . . . You know, it was the usual, ‘Oh my God, it’s Long Beach Wilson,’ ” said two-meter player Robert Weiner, who scored three goals for the Sailors Saturday. “But this time, we were confident in our game and we took control of the game right away. We were able to take out Albert and Shin so it was ours for the taking.”

After taking a 5-0 halftime lead, Newport Harbor continued to score at will, with six goals in the third quarter.

Ryan Cook was the Sailors’ top scorer with four goals. Brendon Hansen had two and Paul Kempner and Steven Jendrusina each had one.

Both teams were coming off difficult semifinals. Long Beach Wilson defeated El Toro, 10-8, and Newport Harbor (7-0) edged Foothill, 6-5.

In the third-place game:

No. 2 Foothill 7, No. 3 El Toro 5--Foothill broke away from a 2-2 halftime tie, scoring five third-quarter goals. Senior Pat Logan had three goals to lead the Knights (6-1). Trevor McMunn had two goals for El Toro (6-2).

In the Irvine tournament:

No. 10 Irvine 22, Laguna Hills 1--Chris Peck scored five goals and Mike Shapiro and Peter Schafer each scored four to help Irvine (9-1) win the championship. Shapiro had four assists and Peck had three.

In the Greensboro (N.C.) girls’ cross-country invitational:

Woodbridge wins--Nicole Scott won the 5K race in 19 minutes 27 seconds and led the Warriors to victory in the 24-team meet. Woodbridge finished with 41 points. Second-place Mt. Woodson (Va.) had 82. Kristen Berglas finished fourth in 19:43 and Meghen Bellotti was sixth in 19:47 for Woodbridge.

In the Bellflower St. John Bosco boys’ cross-country meet:

Murray wins--Santa Margarita’s Steven Murray won the small schools division race in 15:28 on the three-mile course at La Mirada Park, helping the Eagles to the team title. In the large schools race, Edison’s Scott Brandos won in 15:28 for the third-place Chargers.