Newport tangled up by Bruins

Steve Virgen

There were errant passes and missed opportunities, the kind of

mistakes that come from first-game jitters. Nevertheless, Newport

Harbor High Coach Jason Lynch saw enough of his boys water polo

team’s potential that reaffirmed its status as one of the elite

squads of CIF Southern Section Division I.

The Sailors also showed they have no quit in them.

In a game that featured two teams getting a feel for each other

and their own respective players, Long Beach Wilson held off Newport

Harbor, 9-8, in a nonleague season-opening battle of CIF Division I

title contenders Tuesday at Corona del Mar.

Wilson, which won its 40th straight game, is ranked No. 4 in

Division I, while the Sailors are tabbed fifth.

“We’ll be in the thick of things,” said Lynch when assessing his

team’s performance. “There were definitely good things and definitely

things we need to work on. There were some first-game jitters. It was

a good game to get under our belt.”

Newport, which trailed 8-6 heading into the fourth period, came

within one for the fifth time of the game when senior Griffin Gentry

scored on a 6-on-5 opportunity with 4:41 remaining. Senior Michael

Bury drew the player ejection shortly after rebounding his own shot

that ricocheted off the post.

However, Long Beach Wilson answered a little less than two minutes

later, regaining a two-goal lead when junior Scott Swanson (two

goals) scored with the extra man.

The Sailors went 4 for 9 on extra-man situations (including 0 for

3 in the third period), while the Bruins were 3 for 7, and they ran

out the clock on their final man-up opportunity.

“That’s the problem right there,” Lynch said. “Our passes were

being dropped. We were making mistakes. That’s what we have to work

on.”

With 1:33 remaining, Newport called a timeout just after Bury drew

a player ejection to set up the Sailors’ final extra-man opportunity.

But Long Beach came up with the right defense and turned away

Newport.

Bury (team-high three goals) and the Sailors did not give up, as

Bury stole the ball and finished on the breakaway, putting Newport

within, 9-8, with 37 seconds left. However, the Bruins drew a player

ejection on the ensuing possession and ran out the clock.

Newport Harbor never led, but tied twice and came within one six

times. The action, save for the few mistakes each team made, had a

playoff atmosphere at times and because of the rankings of the squads

there was plenty of buildup about the game.

“The problem was we weren’t very relaxed,” Lynch said. “I didn’t

put any emphasis on the rankings or this matchup. We’re still going

to be training extremely hard. This is a season opener. It’s all in a

plan we are working toward. Rome was not built in a day.”

While there was plenty of talent and experience in the pool, both

teams showed youth as Newport started two sophomores (Clay Jorth and

Brett Auer) and Wilson had four sophomores starting.

Jorth scored twice, while Auer added one goal. Sophomore Matt

Sagehorn led the Bruins with three goals. Senior Sean McGhie scored

the first goal for the Sailors, when they had the player advantage

with 3:12 left in the first period.

Newport junior Michael Robinson recorded seven saves, including

five in the third period.

*--*

Nonleague

Wilson 9, Newport 8 Score by Quarters

Wilson 3 2 3 1 -- 9

Newport 2 1 3 2 -- 8

Wilson -- Sagehorn 3, Swanson 2, Walter 2, Sherrin

1, Wright 1. Saves -- Lapin 8. Newport -- Bury 3,

Jorth 2, McGhie 1, Bre. Auer 1, Gentry 1. Saves --

Robinson 7

*--*