Newport Harbor girls’ water polo tops rival for fifth place at Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions
The Newport Harbor and Laguna Beach high school girls’ water polo teams typically expect to have close matches against one another.
Last year they met in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions title match, with the Sailors bringing home their first TOC title in overtime.
The Sailors and Breakers again met in the final game of the tournament Saturday, but this time it was the fifth-place match.
Newport Harbor again found a way to come out on top.
Senior center Ryan Chalupnik and freshman center Gabby Alexson combined for six goals as the Sailors earned a 10-8 win at Santa Barbara High.
Newport Harbor finished 3-1 in the Tournament of Champions. The Sailors’ only loss was an 8-7 triple-overtime setback against Mater Dei in the quarterfinals on Friday night.
“I thought we did a good job doing the little things in that fourth quarter [against Laguna Beach],” Sailors coach Ross Sinclair said. “We did enough little things right to make a big difference, which was great. It’s still a great tournament for us.
“I thought we played really good water polo [Friday], and this morning, and this afternoon. It’s all good stuff for where we are and where we want to be. It’s going to be a fun little home stretch into these last few weeks.”
Chalupnik was an all-tournament team selection for the second straight year for Newport Harbor (12-5). But she got plenty of help.
Angelena Peterson added two goals, while Sofia Del Villar and Harper Price (three assists) also scored in the title match. Junior goalkeeper Lydia Soderberg made six saves.
Chalupnik said the Sailors have really been stressing defense in practice. It made a difference in the final minute as the Breakers were down by one and called a timeout to set up a play. But the Laguna Beach player was pressed into the corner by Chalupnik, and her pass into the middle was stolen by Price.
Peterson then scored into the empty Breakers net in the closing seconds for the final two-goal margin.
“This weekend was full of positives,” Chalupnik said. “We may not have gotten the result that we want, but we kept playing and we played as a team.”
She and Alexson continue to form a formidable combination at center for the Sailors. Alexson had to deal with adversity in the final, being excluded twice in the first half, but she battled through it and even scored her third goal in the third quarter.
“She’s a really mature player for being a freshman,” Sinclair said.
The Breakers (9-9) also had a solid tournament, including a one-goal quarterfinal loss to eventual finalist Foothill. Junior attacker Kara Carver scored three goals in the fifth-place match, while fellow junior Presley Jones led Laguna with a match-high four goals.
Carver, an all-tournament team selection, is emerging as one of the most dynamic players around.
“I see her, probably more than any player I’ve seen, get those top-line steals,” Laguna Beach coach Katie Teets said. “She’s so quick to come up from behind to get that top-side steal to a counter, and then her change of speed is incredible. Once she gets going, she’s able to put separation between her and her defender.”
Claire Turner also scored in the fifth-place match for the Breakers, who got six saves from goalkeeper Siena Jumani.
Laguna Beach played the final match without senior standout Ava Knepper. Teets said that Knepper got a bit beat up over the course of the tournament and was held out for precautionary reasons. She added that she anticipates Knepper being available when Laguna Beach plays at Newport Harbor again on Tuesday, in a key Surf League match.
The Sailors beat the Breakers by a single goal in their first league meeting.
Both Newport Harbor and Laguna Beach advanced to the TOC fifth-place match with wins Saturday morning. Newport Harbor beat Long Beach Wilson 14-12 behind four goals from Chalupnik and two each from Price, Stayt and Del Villar. Laguna Beach got past Oaks Christian 14-11, as Carver netted seven goals.
Top-seeded Orange Lutheran won the Tournament of Champions title, routing Foothill 13-4 in the title behind tournament MVP Sofia Umeda.
Corona del Mar finishes in 10th
Corona del Mar is also growing as a team, and the Sea Kings split their four Tournament of Champions matches.
CdM ended with an 11-9 loss to The Bishop’s School of La Jolla in the ninth-place match Saturday at Dos Pueblos High. But even solid efforts like giving up 11 goals to The Bishop’s, or 10 to Oaks Christian in a tournament-opening loss, meant a lot to first-year CdM coach Marc Hunt.
“From where we were at even two or three weeks ago, we’re seeing a vast improvement, especially if you look at our defensive side,” Hunt said. “The goal is to be playing our best water polo toward the end of the season.”
CdM senior goalkeeper Dahlia Archer anchored the defense against The Bishop’s School, making 10 of her 16 saves in the second half, though goalkeepers Gabby MacAfee and Macey Grimmond also got plenty of playing time in the tournament.
Senior Ava Schoening led CdM (12-7) with three goals against The Bishop’s School, while Reagan Weir and Audrey Long scored two goals each.
Didi Evans scored eight total goals in the tournament for the young Sea Kings, who Hunt said are working on finishing games strong. They led Laguna Beach for much of a Surf League game Wednesday before succumbing, 15-12.
“These are learning opportunities that are really good for us,” said Weir, a junior center who’s a three-year varsity player. “Most of the girls just kind of get a little flustered. It’s all new to them, which I respect and understand. We just need to be focused on the game and not lose our drive mentality.”
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