Newport Harbor boys’ water polo rallies into CIF Division 1 semifinals

Each time the Newport Harbor High boys’ water polo team played against Santa Margarita this season, it was a one-goal game won by the Sailors at home.

The Sailors unofficially won their scrimmage against the Eagles in August, and a month later, they won a South Coast Tournament quarterfinal game against Santa Margarita.

The trend continued Thursday night in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. This time, hot shooting by Newport Harbor senior Ryan Brosnan late helped end Santa Margarita’s season.

Brosnan scored three of his four goals in the fourth quarter as the No. 4-seeded Sailors rallied for a 6-5 win, advancing to the Division 1 semifinals for the first time since 2013.

Newport Harbor (23-5) will play top-seeded Mater Dei on Wednesday at Irvine’s Woollett Aquatics Center. Mater Dei beat Los Angeles Loyola 8-6 in another first-round game.

Brosnan helped the Sailors come back after they trailed 3-2 at halftime and 4-3 headed into the fourth quarter. His shot off a deflection from six meters tied the score at 4-4 with 6:06 left in regulation.

Yurian Quinones put Santa Margarita (17-5) back ahead with his second counterattack goal of the game, but Brosnan again had the answer from up top on back-to-back Newport Harbor possessions. Each goal came from six meters and the second one, with 2:23 remaining, gave Newport Harbor a 6-5 lead.

It held up in the closing seconds after Sailors senior goalie Max Sandberg made his 12th save of the game, on a shot from Angel Sanchez.

“I was shooting all game and I felt pretty off,” Brosnan said. “In the fourth quarter, I kind of just put my head down, picked my spot and shot there. [Newport assistant coach Brian] Schiefer was telling me, ‘Just pick a spot, lean one way, shoot the other and it will go in.’”

The Sunset League champion Sailors had to overcome some adversity early. Standout sophomore Makoto Kenney was excluded on Santa Margarita’s first possession of the game, but Kenney didn’t realize he had been called for the exclusion. He didn’t leave the pool, which resulted in a Santa Margarita penalty shot and Kenney’s second exclusion of the game.

One more exclusion and Kenney would foul out, but Sailors coach Ross Sinclair never removed him. He ended up recording a team-best four steals, with an assist, two field blocks and two exclusions drawn.

“He plays better defense when he knows that he has one life left,” Sinclair said.

Santa Margarita, the third-place team from the Trinity League, was able to limit the Sailors at center. The Eagles’ drop defense held senior Jackson Westerman scoreless, and he drew just one exclusion.

But Sailors senior John Rankin had two goals, an assist and three steals. Jack White and Jason Grew each added a steal for Newport Harbor.

Quinones and Stanford commit A.J. Rossman each scored twice for the visitors, who also got 11 saves from Harvard-bound goalie Noah Hodge and a goal and four steals from UCLA-bound senior Chase Petersen. Chase’s twin brother Brock, who is also bound for UCLA and who Santa Margarita coach Jeremy Laster called his team’s best overall player, has been out for weeks with a torn labrum.

“I thought our game plan was solid … [but] we missed 22 shots and had 12 turnovers,” Laster said. “We preach every day in practice that you’ve got to finish your opportunities, and we didn’t finish.”

The Sailors did, and their season continues. Newport Harbor is now 6-2 this season in one-goal games, the previous five wins all coming in sudden-death overtime.

“We battled and grinded it out, which is nothing short of what these guys are all about,” Sinclair said. “They like being challenged.”

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