NET VALUE

One statistic puts into perspective how much goalie Kelly Graff meant to the Irvine High girls’ water polo team.

Irvine finished 25-4, with three losses by only one goal. The only team to defeat Irvine by more than a goal was Foothill, in the Southern Section Division I title game.

“We were in every game,” Irvine Coach Scott Hinman said. “With Kelly back there, teams never went on any big runs against us.”

That’s because Graff, a 5-foot-9 senior, made the goal look tiny for opposing shooters. Graff’s dominance helped key Irvine’s success, and that’s one of the many reasons she is The Times’ Orange County Player of the Year.

Coaches and players around the county may agree that Capistrano Valley junior Amber Stachowski is the county’s top all-around field player or that Rosary’s Natalie Golda is the most dominant offensive threat. Both also played with the U.S. junior national team.

And what about Foothill’s Jackie Pirro? The Knights’ leading scorer last season sacrificed offensive statistics this season, helped anchor a stingy defense and contributed to offensive balance that culminated with Foothill’s first section championship.

But Graff’s ability and performance provided the catalyst for the Vaqueros, who were relatively young and came into the season as underdogs yet won their league and came within one game of winning their division.

“As far as making an impact on a game,” Foothill Coach David Mikesell said, “no one made as much of a difference as Kelly did. My goodness, in the final against us, we put up, what, 20 some-odd shots against her and she knocked down or got her hand on about 13?”

Foothill managed only one goal through three quarters against Graff and Irvine in the final, before eventually pulling away to win, 5-2. Graff has plenty of other fans.

“Irvine structured their whole game plan around Graff,” Los Alamitos Coach Dave Carlson said. “They knew what their strength was and they geared everything around it. Without her, they are probably just an average team.”

Irvine’s defensive strategy conceded certain perimeter shots and dared opponents to beat Graff. And the senior was equal to the challenge.

But Graff deflects the spotlight with the same ease she knocked away those shots on goal.

“Everybody on our team worked their butt off in practice,” said Graff, who is being recruited by USC, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara. “We didn’t pay much attention to what everyone else said about us. And it didn’t surprise me that we did well this season because I knew we had a pretty good team.”

Graff’s contributions went beyond the saves she made in goal.

“If one did get past her, she’d be the first to tell us that it was OK,” Irvine senior Lindsay Stephens said. “She always kept her chin up and told us to just go out and score another one to get it back.

“She’s just a really positive person. She gave us all a lot of confidence playing in front of her.”

Hinman said Graff’s presence not only got into the heads of opposing shooters, but the Vaqueros also fed off it.

“When you’re playing with a great goalie, you know it’s a fluke whenever you do give up a goal,” Hinman said. “When a lot of garbage goes in, it can be disenchanting. But when you have a goalie like Kelly. . . .

“Even when we were down four goals to Marina, there was no panic. Before we came back and won that game, it’s like the girls knew Kelly wasn’t going to give up any more goals, so they knew they just had to score and we could come back.

“Kelly gave us consistency and stability. She’s a great passer, she is confident directing the defense and very few shots surprised her. I’m surprised more schools didn’t recruit her. She’s a dominant player.”