Capistrano Valley Gets a Quick Rematch With Foothill

No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdowns aren’t everyday occurrences, but Foothill, the top-ranked girls’ water polo team in Orange County, and second-ranked Capistrano Valley will meet for the second time in five days Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Saddleback College.

Saturday, the teams played in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions final at UC Santa Barbara, with Foothill, the defending Southern Section Division I champion, winning, 6-3.

“That was huge,” said Dave Mikesell, Foothill’s co-coach. “It’s the first tournament we’ve won at our school, besides CIF last season. The kids are pretty fired up.”

Although sophomores Brittany Hayes, who had three goals, and Gabbie Domanic, who had two goals, garner most of the attention for the Knights (14-1), it was Foothill’s team defense that fueled the championship run.

Breana Allison drew the primary assignment of defending Capistrano Valley’s Amber Stachowski, the tournament MVP who has signed with UCLA and is also a U.S. junior national team member. With constant double-teaming, the Knights held Stachowski to one goal and her younger sister, Aimee, scoreless.

Early in the fourth quarter, after Capistrano Valley had pulled to within 4-3, Foothill goalie Emily Feher stopped Amber Stachowski’s open shot from two meters, then Domanic scored on the ensuing counterattack to give the Knights a two-goal cushion.

“That was a key play,” Mikesell said. “We’re building up to where we want to be at this part of the season.”

INLAND SPLASH

Woodbridge knocked Tustin from the unbeaten ranks with a 5-3 victory Saturday in the final of the Inland Empire tournament, giving the Warriors even more confidence.

“We were 9-14 last season but we’ve been improving in each of these last three seasons,” Woodbridge Coach Dion Gray said. “And we’ve done it with the same base of girls.”

Juniors Rochelle Gauthier, Sawako Sonoyama and goalie Jennifer Moody are three key players in that nucleus.

“And now we have a freshman sensation too,” Gray said.

That’s Jacquelyn Gauthier, Rochelle’s sister, who leads the Warriors in scoring. She had 16 goals in the Inland Empire tournament as Woodbridge (16-4) went 6-0 to win the title.

Gray is keeping things in perspective. She doesn’t think the Warriors are ready to upset heralded Sea View League rivals Newport Harbor and Irvine.

But Woodbridge does have only one senior on its 12-player roster.

“Last season, we weren’t close at all to either Newport or Irvine,” Gray said. “We’re not planning to beat either one this season either. Maybe we’ll give Irvine a little scare. Hopefully, we might beat them next year.”

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GIRLS’ WATER POLO TOP 10

Orange County Coaches’ Poll

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Pos. School (League) Rec 1. Foothill (Century) 14-1 2. Capistrano Valley (S. Coast) 12-2-1 3. Newport Harbor (Sea View) 13-4 4. Santa Margarita (Serra) 8-4 5. Los Alamitos (Sunset) 12-5 6. El Toro (South Coast) 11-4 7. Marina (Sunset) 7-7-1 8. Irvine (Sea View) 8-6 9. Laguna Beach (Pac. Coast) 14-4 10. Corona del Mar (Pac. Coast) 8-7

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