Girls water polo: Tars win showdown over El Toro

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - Team depth eventually took over in the fourth

quarter Friday for Newport Harbor High’s girls water polo as the host

Sailors scored on three counterattack goals to break open a close game.

“We use a lot more people than they do. We kept putting in fresher

bodies,” Newport Harbor Coach Bill Barnett said, following his team’s 6-3

nonleague victory over El Toro, ranked 10th in Orange County.

The Sailors (10-1), winners of 10 straight games and coming off a

championship in their own tournament last week, outscored El Toro in the

second half, 4-1, including three counterattack goals in a row in the

final period -- two by sophomore Annie Wight and one by senior Jenna

Booth.

“I put in a couple of subs and (the Sailors) countered us,” El Toro

Coach Don Stoll said. “But it’s not (my players’) fault, because they

just got tired and Newport got a couple of counterattack goals. Any time

a team comes back like that, it’s a matter of who’s in better shape. My

team took 10 days off for Christmas.”

In the fourth quarter, it appeared the Chargers (7-2) stayed with the

egg nog while the Sailors continued with pool laps. On defense, the hosts

deflected two outside shots (by Wight and junior standout Katherine

Belden), while senior goalie Heather Deyden recorded four of her 14

saves.

After a 2-2 halftime deadlock, Belden scored from seven meters out

with 4:48 on the clock to give Newport Harbor the lead for good. Belden

also scored the game’s first goal from 10 meters out.

Seniors Erin Ball and Emily Glassic and sophomore Jenna Murphy sparked

the Sailors’ third-quarter defense with steals, then Harbor freshman

Jessica Ball opened the fourth quarter with a steal at two meters, but

the Tars could not convert and maintained a slim one-goal lead.

After a save by Deyden with 4:20 to play in the game, the Sailors

scored on the counterattack after a long pass, Wight’s first of

back-to-back goals.

She scored again on the counterattack with 3:39 on the clock on a pass

from Belden, then Booth scored on a counterattack pass from Erin Ball

with 2:52 to play, giving the Sailors a comfortable 6-2 lead.

“As the quarters went on, we wore down, because (the Sailors) were in

better shape, so I’ll take the blame,” said Stoll, whose team defeated

Villa Park, 10-5, Thursday in its first game back from vacation.

In the second quarter, El Toro scored twice, including once on a

penalty shot with 2:08 left. Then Newport Harbor’s Murphy tied it, 2-2,

with 1:33 to play on a player advantage. Belden and Booth had shot

deflections on defense in the second.

Barnett said his squad had several scoring opportunities in the third

quarter, but “just couldn’t put the ball away.”

Newport Harbor, which hosts Carlsbad today at 10 a.m. in a nonleague

game, will travel to Irvine to open Sea View League action Wednesday.

“Wednesday is the game of the year,” Barnett said.

NONLEAGUE

Newport Harbor 6, El Toro 3

Score by Quarters

El Toro 0 2 0 1 - 3

Newport Harbor 1 1 1 3 - 6

El Toro - Nicholson 1, Sonnenfeld 1, Hedley 1. Saves - Hardie 4.

Newport Harbor - Belden 2, Wight 2, Murphy 1, Booth 1. Saves - Deyden

14.