Newport Harbor Buries Foothill in Second Half

When Newport Harbor and Foothill traded sides midway through their nonleague girls’ water polo game Friday, the momentum did the same.

Desperate just to get off a shot early on, the sixth-ranked Sailors peppered No. 2 Foothill in the second half and won, 7-5, at Newport Harbor.

“I think Foothill came out a lot more intense than we did and I think we picked up the intensity to match theirs,” said Newport Harbor Coach Bill Barnett, whose team was ranked No. 1 in the county before losing three games to ranked teams this month.

The Sailors (16-4) turned over the ball six times in the opening quarter and managed only three shots, although Kyndra Cox did take advantage of a penalty shot, cutting Foothill’s lead to 3-1.

The Knights (12-5) maintained a two-goal lead at the half, but Newport Harbor scored on its first two possessions of the third quarter, then took a 5-4 lead on a goal by senior Katherine Gregg from 10 meters.

Foothill tied the score midway through the third quarter on a man-advantage goal by freshman Gabbie Domanic, but the Knights suffered a key loss shortly after that when freshman Brittany Hayes was disqualified with her third ejection foul.

Cox, who had been guarded primarily by Hayes, scored two goals in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter.