Newport Harbor boys’ water polo opens title defense with win over Laguna Beach
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The Laguna Beach High boys’ water polo team wanted to play aggressively in its first match of the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs Wednesday night.
Facing top-seeded defending champion Newport Harbor on the road, Breakers coach Camron Hauer didn’t see many other options. As a result, his team was called for 10 exclusions and four penalty shots.
“We just didn’t want to go out there and play soft,” Hauer said. “We wanted to have as much control over the game as possible, and the only way you can do that is by pressing hard. We knew that it could backfire, and it did, but at least we went out there fighting.”
Newport Harbor senior standout Connor Ohl said that aggressive defense stunned a couple of his teammates early on — to a point.
“Everybody just got back into the rhythm,” Ohl said. “We just overcome that, because that’s the type of team we are.”
They are part of a senior-loaded team eager to defend its Open Division title, and Newport Harbor got off to a good start in that quest.
Ohl scored a match-high five goals, and the Sailors beat Laguna Beach 14-4 to open competition in Pool A.
Sunset League champion Newport Harbor (26-1) got its first seven goals from seven different players. The Sailors took a 7-2 lead when senior center Geoff Slutzky, who drew five exclusions, scored inside on the opening possession of the second half.
Kai Kaneko had three goals for the Sailors, Slutzky scored twice and Marco Rizof, Mason Netzer, Hudson Parks and Owen Marks all added goals. Senior goalkeeper Connor Clougherty made 12 saves.
Playing their first match in eight days, the Sailors were not at their sharpest. They finished three of 10 with the extra player and failed to convert all four of the penalty shots, one of which was blocked by Laguna Beach senior goalkeeper Max Jakle.
“There’s the little things that we let slip, but overall I thought it was good energy, good excitement,” Sailors coach Ross Sinclair said. “The spirit was there.”
With the game well in hand, goalie Clougherty took the final penalty shot in the fourth quarter. It ended up just a bit wide left.
“That was my first time I’ve ever taken a penalty in my water polo career, in a game,” he said with a smile after the match. “I just thought about it too much, and it came out of my hand a little bit weird. Hopefully next time, if I’m given that opportunity, I’ll put it away.”
Senior standout Dylan Williams scored a pair of goals for Laguna Beach, which also got goals from senior co-captain Lucas Rose and sophomore Mason Gruba.
The Pacific Coast League champion Breakers (24-7) came into Wednesday’s match on a school record 14-match winning streak. The 24 wins also represented a new regular-season mark for the Breakers.
Hauer, a Laguna Beach alumnus, said he missed coaching in the first half of the season, due to a new baby in the family, and was proud of his team for handling three different head coaches.
His players were excited when they learned they’d earned the eighth and final spot in the Open Division, making an appearance in that top bracket for the first time since 2021.
“A good thing I like about this team is that they’re competitive,” Hauer said. “They want to be their best, they want to play the best and compete against that. No one was like, ‘Oh, I’d rather go down to [Division] 1 and try to win.’ They want to see how they compete against the best teams. Today obviously wasn’t great, but the room is stoked. Everyone is really happy.”
Laguna Beach continues Pool A play at No. 4 Oaks Christian on Saturday, and at No. 5 JSerra on Nov. 5. The Breakers need to earn an upset win in at least one of those games to avoid a last-place finish in the pool that would eliminate them.
Newport Harbor hosts JSerra at 11 a.m. Saturday, and Oaks Christian on Nov. 5. Wins in both of those matches would clinch a first-place finish in Pool A and a berth in the Open Division semifinals.
The Sailors, who have been top-ranked in CIF all season, are motivated to keep the good times rolling.
“This is the last run,” said Ohl, a three-year varsity standout bound for Stanford. “This is what we’ve been waiting all year for. We talked about it during the offseason, ‘what are you looking forward to the most?’ And it’s the final run with all of the guys.
“I think everybody, especially the seniors, really knows that this is the last time they’re going to be playing water polo on a strong, Newport high school team. I think everybody is putting in just a little extra effort, because they know it’s the last time.”
Corona del Mar 13, Mira Costa 8: The Sea Kings opened play in Open Division Pool B with a win Wednesday night at home.
Junior Will Weir scored a match-high four goals for Corona del Mar (23-6), while seniors Nathan Simoncelli and Cooper Harlan added three goals each.
No. 3-seeded CdM hosts No. 7 Long Beach Wilson in continued Pool B play on Saturday.
