Eagles Get to Final With Ease

Finding a weak link in the Santa Margarita girls’ water polo team is nearly impossible.

The top-seeded Eagles turned in another strong effort Wednesday in a Division I semifinal game, defeating Long Beach Wilson, 8-3, at the Los Alamitos Armed Forces Center.

Santa Margarita (25-3) will play second-seeded Santa Ana Foothill in the championship game Saturday at 6 p.m. at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

It will be a rematch of last season’s Division I title game, won by Foothill, 7-6, in overtime and last month’s Southern California Invitational, won by Santa Margarita, 7-6.

“You never know what can happen in the final,” said Santa Margarita senior Kristina Kunkel, who scored three goals to equal Erika Figge for the team high. “It doesn’t matter that we already beat them this season.”

Santa Margarita surged to a 6-2 halftime lead against the Bruins, converting all of their shots. Wilson goalkeeper Kendall Cheak, who was instrumental in an 8-7 quarterfinal victory over Lake Forest El Toro on Saturday, didn’t get her first saves until 5:45 remained in the third quarter.

Santa Margarita held Wilson (17-10) scoreless in the second half until Cassie Azevedo scored with 45 seconds remaining, one of the few shots on goal for the Bruins.

Dan Arritt

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Santa Ana Foothill 8, Newport Harbor 6--Gabbie Domanic scored five goals for second-seeded Foothill (26-2) in a Division I semifinal at Tustin High. Third-seeded Newport Harbor (23-7) cut the lead to 6-5 on third-quarter goals by Katherine Belden, Jenna Murphy and Annie Wight.

Murphy and Wight each scored two goals.

Santa Barbara 8, Agoura 7--Rosie Godlis broke a 7-7 tie with a four-meter penalty shot with 3:18 remaining in a Division II semifinal at North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake High. Lauren Lohnberg scored four goals for fourth-seeded Agoura (23-8), which played Santa Barbara in the last two Division II finals.

Lauren Boreta, Molly Cahill and Miranda Nichols each scored two goals for top-seeded Santa Barbara, which will play Ventura in the final Saturday at Belmont Plaza.

Placentia El Dorado 5, Irvine University 4--Lauren Benson scored the game-winning goal with just under three minutes remaining in a Division IV semifinal at Irvine’s Heritage Park.

El Dorado (15-13) will play top-seeded Corona del Mar in the final Saturday at Belmont Plaza.