Seven Champions Crowned In CIF-Southern Section

March 4, 2014

This past weekend, seven different champions were crowned in girl's water polo in the CIF-Southern Section.

In the CIF-Southern Section, Laguna Beach downed Newport Harbor 10-7 for the Division 1 title. In Division 2, it was Santa Margarita over Mater Dei 5-4, while Division 3 saw Los Osos edge Mira Costa 7-6. La Serna defeated Troy 5-4 in Division 4 and Riverside Poly toppled Warren 15-10 in Division 5. Palm Desert defeated Yorba Linda 8-6 for the Division 6 title and Segerstrom got past Ocean View 7-4 for the Division 7 championship.

See below for area news reports on each match

Divison 1 - Laguna Beach 10 Newport Harbor 7
Matt Szabo - Daily Pilot

Fischer did not have to be so hard on herself. Giving the Breakers a five-goal cushion proved more than enough. Reid scored, and the Sailors added a rare six-on-four goal from Pipkin. That was one of the goals that went off Fischer and in, but the Sailors still trailed by three goals entering the fourth quarter.

They couldn't get closer, despite fouling out Laguna's second-leading scorer, Makenzie's freshman sister Aria, with 5:01 left in the fourth quarter. Heidi Fults' power-play chance glanced off the top of the bar and went over.

Newport Harbor finished three for seven with the extra player. Laguna Beach converted all three of its power-play chances, as well as two penalty shots.

Division 2 - Santa Margarita 5 Mater Dei 4
Dan Albano - OC Register

IRVINE - A block off the face of its goalie. A short-lived protest. A challenge down to the final seconds from its rival.

Santa Margarita's girls water polo team overcame plenty to defend its CIF-SS Division 2 title at a rain-soaked William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center on Saturday.

Santa Margarita goalie Nikki Doumas and Haley Wan made key defensive plays in the final two minutes and Sage Pfeiffer andDiana Carballo scored fourth-period goals as top-seeded Santa Margarita held off No. 2 Mater Dei, 5-4, in a showdown between Trinity League rivals.

The Eagles edged Mater Dei, 12-11, in overtime in last season's Division 2 final.

They sealed their title defense when Mater Dei's final power-play shot sailed over the goal with three seconds left.

Santa Margarita (24-6) also got a fifth field block from Wan with just under a minute remaining and three fourth-period saves from Doumas.

Pfeiffer and Kacey Avalos each with finished with two goals for Santa Margarita.

"Resilient," Wan said of her team. "The unity on our team is just really what helps us. We all want to win for each other."

Doumas' block partially off her face with 3:44 left in the fourth preserved a 5-3 lead and sparked a controversy. Santa Margarita called timeout after the block but Mater Dei (26-7) argued that the Eagles didn't have possession to call timeout.

Mater Dei coach Chris Segesman called for a penalty shot and protested the call, but after the officials met, Mater Dei was awarded possession.

The Eagles' defense held on the ensuing possession.

"The final decision of the referees was that the ball was in the position of no possession," said John Montrella, a member of the championship management committee.

"You're not allowed to call timeout unless you have possession. The discussion resulted in the referees finally coming to the same conclusion that it was an illegal timeout (by Santa Margarita) and they awarded the ball to the other team (Mater Dei), which is the correct rule interpretation."

And while the discussion delayed the game for several minutes, the break wasn't all tension-filled. Santa Margarita's student section sang Wan, who turned 18 on Saturday, happy birthday.

Mater Dei's Brianna Daboub cut Santa Margarita's lead to 5-4 on a direct shot with 2:37 left. But the Eagles' defense held from there, especially against the Monarchs' power-play. Mater Dei finished 2 for 10 with the extra attacker; Santa Margarita went 0 for 5.

"We knew that if we stood together, we could overcome any obstacle," said Doumas, who finished with 12 saves. "It was definitely a game of endurance but I enjoyed every minute of it."

Mater Dei's defense shut out Wan but the Princeton-bound senior found other ways to contribute. She almost became a second goalie with her ability to field block in front of the cage.

"Teams can take away Haley Wan on offense but what they can't do is score on her," Santa Margarita coachBrian Weathersby said. "She puts herself in situations where she knows what angle to take (on defense) and she knows where certain people like to shoot the ball."

Mater Dei finished as the Division 2 runner-up for the third consecutive season, all by one-goal decisions.

"Our girls played their hearts out. It was a good game," Segesman said. "We just didn't capitalize. Defensively, we were lights out. We did our job. Contained Haley and played great defense. Anna (Politiski)played well in the cage. We just didn't put our shots away. That's what it comes down to."

Division 3 - Los Osos 7 Mira Costa 6
Clay Fowler - Daily Bulletin

IRVINE — There is something in the water at Los Osos High School — some extremely talented water polo players.

After leading the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game by four goals with 2:49 to play, the top-seeded Los Osos girls held on for a 7-6 win over No. 2 seed Manhattan Beach Mira Costa on Saturday night.

Their sixth consecutive appearance in the championship game earned the Grizzlies their first repeat title and third championship overall. After the boys water polo team won its second consecutive championship last season, Los Osos is now the first school in CIF-SS history to have repeat championships by both the girls and boys programs in back-to-back seasons.

"It's not the program, it's the girls," Los Osos co-head coach Eric Cypher said. "It's the athletes. It's the families. The work they do, the things they say and the things they sacrifice is what makes them what they are."

It didn't come easy for a youthful Los Osos (24-9) team with three sophomores and two freshman playing key roles. Though, it appeared it might be when freshman Jessica Kimberling scored on a counter attack in driving rain with 2:49 to play to give the Grizzlies a commanding 7-3 lead with 2:49 left in the game.

Mira Costa (24-8) didn't go quietly.

After scoring just one goal in the last 17 and a half minutes, the No. 2 seed poured in three consecutive goals in a two-minute stretch to pull within 7-6. The final Mira Costa goal deflected off a Los Osos defender into the bottom corner of the net with 35 seconds to play.

Los Osos then held the ball the entirety of the shot clock, leaving Mira Costa one final possession with six seconds left, but the goalie couldn't find an open player and flung a desperation shot wide of the net to set off a celebration ignited by Cypher diving head first into the pool.

"That team would not go quietly into the night." Cypher said. "As they started to come back, we just had to settle down. But our youth couldn't hear us and we were discussing, the atmosphere was electric."

Los Osos didn't lead by more than two goals until the fourth quarter. Sophomore Clarice Aguilar scored the only goal of the third quarter by either team, putting in a penalty shot to give the Grizzlies a 4-2 lead. Aguilar fired in a second consecutive goal on a six-on-five advantage early in the fourth quarter, one of three straight goals for the Grizzlies that gave them a 6-2 advantage, what proved to be enough padding to hold off a torrid comeback.

"I can't even explain it right now. It's crazy," an emotional Aguilar said. "It felt great (to get some separation in the fourth quarter) and I'm glad I had my teammates behind me for all of it."

Los Osos won its first two playoff games comfortably, but found themselves in a one-goal game in the fourth quarter of an eventual 8-5 semifinal win over Arroyo Grande on Wednesday.

In similar fashion, Mira Costa cruised to the semifinals where it had to hold off a furious comeback by Upland in an 11-10 win. In two meetings this season with Upland, Los Osos defeated its Baseline League foe twice by a combined total of three goals.

Plenty of this Los Osos team will be around next season to try for another first in the program's history — a three-peat.

Division 4 - La Serna 5 Troy 4
David Felton - Whittier Daily News

IRVINE — The last La Serna High freshman Carissa Perez saw of her lob shot it was clearing the outstretched hands of Troy goalie Jessica Harris and falling into the far corner of the Warriors' net. After that, all she could see was her thrilled teammates mobbing her as they celebrated their 5-4 victory in sudden death in Saturday's CIF-SS Division 4 girls water polo championship.

Perez's goal ended a thrilling contest that also was a rematch of last season's Division 4 final, which was won by Troy 9-5. The teams were tied at 3-3 after regulation and at 4-4 following a pair of 3-minute overtime periods, which brought about sudden death.

Each team turned away a possession by the other before Perez scored the game-winner. She took a cross-pool pass from Bella Villa and had an open look at the net. And when she saw Harris come slightly off her line, Perez lofted her shot into a perfect location to end the game.

"I just shot for the corner and hoped for the best," Perez said. "Actually, I'm shocked I took a lob because I usually shot hard.

"I'm just glad it went in."

Perez's goal came just seconds after Troy nearly won the game. On the Warriors' first possession of sudden death, Marissa Vaccher's shot got behind La Serna goalie Jacqui Verdugo, but it caromed off the inside of the goal post and never crossed the line, much to the disappointment of a Troy crowd that thought it had successfully defended its crown.

"I was really scared (when the ball got by me)," Verdugo admitted. "I was terrified."

Much like Harris, Verdugo was outstanding in goal. She stopped a 5-meter penalty shot by Minna Mattis in the second quarter and stopped several point-blank shots in the second half.

"She played flawlessly," La Serna co-coach Erin Verstegen said. "She really had some major saves that kept us in the game."

Troy (21-3) trailed 3-2 after three quarters but tied the game with 2:09 left in the fourth on Mattis' lob shot. The Warriors then took a 4-3 lead when Emma Armstrong scored in the first overtime.

But Villa tied the game with 1:06 remaining in the second overtime when she scored a 6-on-5 goal.

The overtime victory was La Serna's third of the playoffs, and all four of its postseason triumphs were by two goals or fewer. Mattis scored twice for Troy from her 2-meter position, but she was defended well by Katie Hills, Monica Robles and Mary Lou Rodriguez.

"We executed our game plan to perfection," La Serna co-coach Jim Armstrong said.

"Another one-goal game. Incredible."

La Serna held a 2-1 lead after one quarter, and neither side scored in the second. Robles opened the scoring with 1:40 left in the first quarter and Rodriguez scored on an impressive backhander for a 2-1 lead. The Lancers had several lob shots saved by Harris, and they just missed on a number of other attempts.

"We just couldn't score," Armstrong said. "It was like we were snake-bit, but our defense was awesome."

Perez's game-winner was her only goal of the game, thanks to some stellar defense by Troy, but she remained aggressive throughout the match.

"She kept bringing her intensity and maintained her confidence," Verstegen said. "Troy was all over for the whole game, and she saved it for the end."

Division 5 - Riverside Poly 15 Warren 10
Eric-Paul Johnson - Press Enterprise

IRVINE — Last season, Shelby Barkley had to watch the fourth quarter of Riverside Poly's loss in the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 girls water polo championship from the bench after she picked up her third exclusion of the match.

Barkley made amends for last season's disappointing finish, as she scored a pair of fourth-quarter goals to spearhead Poly to a 15-10 victory over Downey Warren in this year's championship.

"These are tears of joy and happiness this year," Barkley said. "Last year, the tears were those of frustration. None of us wanted to have to experience that again."

Warren (23-10) scored the opening goal of the fourth quarter to draw even with a little more than six minutes left in the match.

"We knew they wouldn't just go away," Poly coach Mike Cardey said. "They kept battling back. We just had to find a way to answer back."

And that's exactly what Poly did, scoring five consecutive goals to close Saturday morning's match at Woollett Aquatics Center.

Barkley helped the Bears regain the lead with 5:43 remaining when she scored on a power play. Poly (27-5) turned the ball over on the next possession, but Barkley pounced and swiped the ball from the goalkeeper. She scored again to extend the lead to 12-10.

Jacqueline Bywater scored on a penalty shot about one minute later, and Lauren Bywater added another goal with three minutes to go. Jacqueline Bywater capped the run with a goal at the 1:41 mark.

The victory was a satisfying career finish for the squad's six seniors.

"It's a sad feeling in that this was the last match we'll play together," Julie Swieca said. "But it feels great going out as the champions."

Poly caught a break when Kayla Casas, Warren's top scorer, got her third exclusion with two minutes left in the third quarter, forcing her to the bench for the rest of the match. Casas scored nine goals in the semifinals, but she had only two Saturday.

Warren was held scoreless over the final six minutes and missed an opportunity to stop Poly's momentum when it went a man up midway through the fourth quarter. Stephany Velazquez fired a shot at the cage, but Keana Eldridge came up with the field block.

Goalkeeper Madelynn Knust had two saves during the final minutes to help secure the win. Knust finished with eight saves.

Eldridge was a standout with superb 2-meter defense. She cut off Warren's interior offense and also finished with three field blocks.

"That's what I'm known for," Eldridge said of her defense. "The key is having faith that everyone else is doing their job on defense."

Barkley, Swieca and the Bywater sisters all finished with three goals. Sara Dempsey scored twice, and Eldridge added one goal.

"That's the kind of balanced attack that we've had all season long," Cardey said. "It's what made us a difficult team to play defense against."

Division 6 - Palm Desert 8 Yorba Lina 6
Patti Meyers - Desert Sun

IRVINE — No one was going to rain on this parade.

The Palm Desert High School girls' water polo team was marching straight toward a CIF Division VI title and neither thunder, lightning or the defending champions from Yorba Linda were going to stand in the way.

Today, the Aztecs reign as first-time CIF champions. Palm Desert defeated Yorba Linda 8-6 on a stormy Saturday night in Irvine.

Maybe no one would have forecasted it, but Palm Desert was the superior team on this night. The Aztecs had never reached the title game and had lost to Yorba Linda earlier in the season, the same team that knocked Palm Desert out of the playoffs last year.

"This means so much for everyone at Palm Desert because we made history," said senior speedster Addi Halligan, who led the winners with four goals. "The boys won (Palm Desert won the boys' title for the first time in November) and now the girls. The feeling is unbelievable."

Senior Emily Garczynski added that it was surreal to be back in the same pool where she cheered the boys' team onto victory.

"We were all here, the same pool," she said. "It's just unbelievable. We just wanted it so bad. We had a good feeling about this.

"We knew we had to start hard and finish even harder," Garczynski said. "We just had that drive to beat them, and it all came out in this game."

The Mustangs (25-8) got on the scoreboard first, midway through the first quarter, but it took just 12 seconds later for Palm Desert to answer.

Halligan fired one in, then put Palm Desert ahead 30 seconds later. She hauled in a pass from Cindy Delic, let the ball fly, and it bounced off the bar and back into her hands. She rifled it to the back of the net for the 2-1 lead.

Halligan completed the hat trick after a steal by Garczynski set up for the 3-1 lead after one quarter.

Yorba Linda got a couple of shots off, but none were too difficult for Palm Desert goalie Savannah Clyde, who made it look easy throughout with her long reach.

Kelley Burke continued the solid ball control and worked the defensive scheme as Palm Desert cruised into the second quarter in command.

The Mustangs cut the score to 3-2 with a tally from Burdette Forsch, and the Aztecs' defense held for the 3-2 halfime lead.

"They might have underestimated us," said Clyde of the No.-1 ranked Mustangs. "We lost by one (8-7) the last time, and maybe they were thinking we can't do it. But we brought our A-game. We were a lot more motivated since the last time."

Yorba Linda tied the score at 3-all at the 2:10 mark of the third quarter, but the No. 2-ranked Aztecs (26-3) didn't falter. The offense went back to work when Garczynski converted a penalty shot at 1:51, and Halligan netted her fourth goal at 1:28 for the 5-3 lead.

"We were up by three goals the last time and we lost," coach Michelle Valovic remembered. "We had a strategy coming in and they did a good job of sticking with that. We needed three girls covered, and we did a good job of helping each other."

Valovic, a former Palm Desert player who is in her first year as head coach for her alma mater, said she didn't feel confident about the victory until later in the fourth.

Her younger sister, Elise Stein, a sophomore, helped her breathe a sigh of relief. She made the score 6-3 before Yorba Linda came back with a goal. Sarah Nichols, Burke, Garczynski, Delic and Stein swarmed the opposition before Stein was able to net another on the fly at 2:35.

Nichols made it 8-4 at the 1:59 mark before the Mustangs closed it out with two goals.

"This means everything," said Delic, a senior. "We worked so hard. Today, we made history. We gave it all we had. It's awesome for Palm Desert High School."

Division 7 - Segerstrom 7 Ocean View 4
Dan Albano - OC Register

IRVINE - Segerstrom has been playing water polo for only three years, but the school made more impressive history Saturday at the CIF-SS girls championships.

Goalie Melissa Osorio made 11 saves and Nathania Cuevasand Michelle Gonzalez each scored twice as the top-seeded Jaguars defeated Golden West League rival Ocean View, 7-4, in the Division 7 final at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center.

Segerstrom (23-9) claimed its first girls crown and became only the second Orange County program to capture CIF boys and girls water polo titles in the same school year.

Tim Fredericksen coached Segerstrom's boys and girls teams. The Jaguars joined longtime juggernaut Newport Harbor (2007-08) as the only program in county history to sweep titles.

The Sailors pulled off the feat with a Division 1 boys title in the fall of 2007 and the girls Division I crown in 2007-08.

"It's mind-blowing," Segerstrom's Gillian Robles said, "because 21/2 years ago, none of us knew how to play water polo. Half of us didn't even know what water polo was.

"And now to be here, and us to both bring home a banner, it's just insane."

Said Fredericksen of the sweep, "I'm still in awe. It never happens. ... It's not (because of) me. There's got to be something in the water. They played amazing."

Segerstrom didn't play like novices as it defeated the No. 2-seeded Seahawks (17-10) for the third time.

The Jaguars allowed only one even-strength goal, a long-distance strike by Elena Isogawa with five seconds left in the third. Isogawa finished with three goals before fouling out in the fourth.

Segerstrom's defense got two field-blocks from Rebecca Gutierrez and two steals apiece from Cuevas, Justine Mills, Robles and Gonzalez.

The Jaguars also went 4 for 8 on the power-play while Ocean View finished 2 for 6.

"It takes a lot of team work," Osorio said of the title. "And our coach giving us all the skills and basics and motivating us to go further and further."

Ocean View finished as the Division 7 runner-up for the second straight season but made its run with just one senior this season.

"Getting here is tough but losing is tough, too," Ocean View coach Melissa Fernandez said. "I'm just proud of the girls. They stuck it out and fought to the very end."