Conway Helps Sailors Succeed

Her face was swollen and bruised. Her nose was broken. But Carolyn Conway was unbowed.

Consequently, Newport Harbor High was not to be beaten.

Conway scored a game-high five goals and had five steals for the top-seeded Sailors (27-3), who ended the title reign of second-seeded and four-time defending champion Santa Ana Foothill with a 10-8 victory over the Knights in the Southern Section Division I championship game Tuesday night at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

“We ended their era, that’s all I’ve got to say,” said Conway, a senior two-meter standout who sustained a broken nose in the Sailors’ semifinal victory of Long Beach Wilson last week.

Conway wore a plastic facemask to protect her nose, eyes and face in the first quarter. She took it off at the start of the second period, however, because she found that condensation in the mask hampered her vision and breathing.

Conway scored the first goal of the game, tied the score at 3-3 in the second quarter and gave the Sailors their biggest leads at 6-4 in the third and 9-6 in the fourth.

The victory was the Sailors’ third in four meetings with Foothill (27-4) this year. The Knights won the last meeting, 7-6, in the semifinals of the Southern California Championships. Conway ended their hopes Tuesday with a backhanded shot that put them down, 9-6, with 4:28 to play.

Jillian Kraus led the Knights with three goals. She pulled Foothill to within 9-8 with 1:20 left and tried to convert again with 15 seconds to play, but Sailor goalie Kim Housepian made her sixth block of the game.

Upland 14, Redlands 7 -- Senior Vanessa Lindsey scored six goals as the top-seeded Highlanders led from start to finish to win the Division V championship for the second season in a row.

Lindsey scored twice in the second and fourth quarters and goalie Alison Lucas made eight saves, most coming on shots from the perimeter by Redlands.

Bri Anderson added three goals for Upland (29-3), which led, 8-3, at halftime. .

Miranda Quinones and Janee Walsh each had three goals for third-seeded Redlands (27-3).

Rowland Heights Rowland 7, Garden Grove 6 -- Senior Julie Hale scored five goals for the Raiders (25-1), who won the Division VI championship for the second consecutive season.

Among Hale’s goals were two converted in man-advantage situations, one on a four-meter penalty shot and another from the perimeter as the 35-second clock expired.

Danielle Montenegro converted what turned out to be the decisive goal, making the score 7-4 with 4:43 left. Elizabeth Hahn had the other goal for Rowland.

Jeanette De Meneces, who finished with four goals for Garden Grove (25-5), scored twice in the last 2:57, including one to pull the Argonauts within the final margin with 37 seconds remaining. De Meneces’ sister Laura missed a last-second desperation shot from beyond half-court to end the game.