Sixth time not the charm for Newport Harbor girls’ water polo in CIF semifinal loss
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IRVINE — The Newport Harbor High girls’ water polo team has played against Oaks Christian a whopping six times this season.
This, after the teams met for the CIF Southern Section Open Division title last year.
Everything was on the table a round earlier Wednesday night — the Open Division semifinals this time — at Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine.
Though the teams have split this year’s six meetings 3-3, the Lions again came up with the victory that mattered the most.
Stanford-bound senior left-handed attacker Mia Fabros scored a match-high five goals and Oaks Christian earned a 12-9 win, again ending the Sailors’ shot for a CIF championship ring.
Newport Harbor junior center Gabby Alexson said she and her teammates were “pretty crushed” following the match, which ended an 11-match winning streak for No. 2-seeded Newport Harbor (27-4).
“It’s definitely not a good feeling,” Alexson said. “It sucks. Our whole team is really emotional, because I think we were a team that could have won it all … We had a really special group this season.”
No. 3 Oaks Christian (26-6) advances to play top-seeded Mater Dei in the Open Division title match on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Mt. San Antonio College.
Wednesday night’s match certainly started out well for the Sailors. Sophomore defender Olivia Bryant, who led the team with three goals, and Alexson scored on the team’s first two possessions. Defensively, Oaks Christian was forced to dump the ball on its first possession and was subsequently called for an offensive foul.
“I think we got a little bit comfortable,” said Sailors coach Ross Sinclair, whose team had notched one-goal victories over Oaks Christian in the Newport Invitational semifinals, as well as an Open Division group play game last week. “It’s tough to beat a team three times a row, and playing them for the sixth time. It’s tough, let alone in the playoffs. I thought there were things that we did really well, and then we kind of went away from it, so that was a little frustrating.”
Oaks Christian had tied the match at 5-5 by halftime after Fabros scored a pair of power-play goals. Her penalty shot goal, drawn by teammate Nicole O’Neill, gave Oaks Christian its first lead midway through the third quarter. Then Fabros scored yet another six-on-five goal.
The Lions converted an impressive seven for 11 of their power-play opportunities, along with a pair of penalty shots.
“We changed our six-on-five a little bit and that kind of opened up [Fabros], and it worked out three times,” Oaks Christian coach Jack Kocur said. “It also gave her two opportunities to have assist passes. It was a six-on-five that we’ve looked at a lot. If you notice, we run the same six-on-five every single time. We were waiting for them to make a small adjustment and mistake, and we were seeing it prior to that. We worked on it, and we came away with it. Having seven for 11 is pretty amazing.”
Oaks Christian stormed to a 10-7 lead on Makena Bygrave’s six-on-five strike early in the fourth quarter.
“They’re familiar with us, the same way we’re familiar with them,” Newport Harbor senior goalkeeper Sunny Brown said. “So, it’s kind of hard when they go on a roll and they know how to capitalize on your weaknesses. I think we just lost it a little bit defensively there for a second, and unfortunately that cost us the game.”
Newport Harbor tried to rally. Sophomore Addie Ting scored up top, then junior Madison Mack’s power-play goal brought the Sailors within 10-9 with 2:44 remaining.
But on the other end, it was Fabros scoring again from the perimeter off a foul, giving her team a little breathing room. Senior goalkeeper Alex Stoddard made 11 saves for the Lions.
Oaks Christian was effective at limiting Newport Harbor’s double-post offense, which Alexson said had worked better in the teams’ Open Division group play match.
“Every time the ball was in, you saw four girls surrounding the ball when that ball came in,” Kocur said. “That’s part of the discipline and the dedication and the sacrifice … And when you have, I think, the best goalie in the country, you can lean on her a little bit more than usual.”
The season is not over for Newport Harbor, which will compete in the CIF Southern California Regional championships next week. A seventh matchup with Oaks Christian this season is possible there.
Alexson said there were no days off, with the team heading right back to practice on Thursday afternoon.
“We’re competitors on our team,” she said. “We’re practicing for regionals … We’d rather go out with a bang.”
