Newport Harbor shut down by Mater Dei in CIF Division 1 boys’ water polo semifinal

Reporting from irvine —  The last time that the Newport Harbor High boys’ water polo team won the CIF Southern Section Division 1 title was 2007, the same year that Mater Dei was a finalist for the first time in Division 2.

The Sailors have not been able to get back to a section title match in the decade since. For the Monarchs, 2007 was the start of a dynasty. Coach Chris Segesman’s program made either the Division 1 or Division 2 final for nine straight years, a streak that ended with last year’s Division 1 quarterfinal loss to Huntington Beach.

“These guys had to walk on the pool deck every day and look at the [record] board,” Segesman said. “They saw one year, 2016, that wasn’t on there. Last year was the first year in 10 years that they didn’t make it there … That [board] is a reminder that the guys before them carried on a lot of tradition. It’s their responsibility to keep it going.”

The Monarchs are indeed returning to the title game, and it’s at the Sailors’ expense. Top-seeded Mater Dei dominated Wednesday night’s Division 1 semifinal at Woollett Aquatics Center, beating No. 4-seeded Newport Harbor 9-3.

The Monarchs set up a title match Saturday against No. 3-seeded Oaks Christian, which beat Studio City Harvard-Westlake 8-7 in overtime in the first semifinal match.

The Division 1 bracket is being played out to the top eight spots this year, so Newport Harbor will play host to Harvard-Westlake on Friday in the third-place game. Newport coach Ross Sinclair said the game time is to be determined. The Sailors also have qualified for the inaugural CIF Southern California Regional Championships, which will take place Nov. 17-18 at Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar.

Newport Harbor (22-6) lost for the third time against Mater Dei (26-3) this year, but Wednesday’s game was the most lopsided in terms of final score. Through the first half, it didn’t appear it would turn out that way.

Newport sophomore Makoto Kenney scored a rebound goal and the score was tied 1-1 after the first quarter. The Sailors were still in striking distance at halftime, down 3-1.

But Mater Dei scored five consecutive goals in the third quarter to break the game open.

“We weren’t playing bad in the first half, we just weren’t executing on the scoreboard,” Sinclair said. “A couple of breaks didn’t go our way, and because of those missed opportunities … we kind of went away from the game plan a bit. In a game like this, you have to be mentally tough. You have to be disciplined, and that’s a very disciplined team.”

Newport Beach resident Jack Seybold, a Stanford commit, led the Monarchs with two goals and four steals, while Huntington Beach resident Kaden Kaneko also scored twice.

The scoring was balanced for Mater Dei, which finished five for seven on the power play. Huntington Beach residents Cooper Haddad, Wyatt Benson and Cameron Reagan all added goals for the Monarchs, while Newport Beach resident Warren Loth had a goal.

Newport Harbor sophomore center Ike Love scored twice in the fourth quarter, both goals assisted by Kenney. Senior goalie Max Sandberg made seven saves for the Sailors, who got two steals each from Kenney and Jack White and one steal from Ryan Brosnan, Jason Grew and Charlie Covina.

Jackson Westerman drew three exclusions at center for the Sailors, who converted just one of five power-play chances.

Though the season will continue for the Sailors, Sinclair was obviously proud of his team making the Division 1 semifinals for the first time since 2013. He credited the senior class of Sandberg, Brosnan, Nick Bergsma, John Rankin, Grew and Westerman.

“We’ve had a great season,” Sinclair said. “I’m happy with where the program is at, and these seniors are a huge credit to that. They’ve put up with me for the last three years, and they bought in. I know they want to come out and win a CIF title their senior year. Who doesn’t? But they should be really proud of their accomplishments. They’ve gotten this program back into the conversation of being competitive year in and year out. I think it’s just the beginning for us, hopefully.”

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