Girls water polo: Newport handles Woodbridge, 13-2, to clinch title

Richard Dunn

CORONA DEL MAR - Completing a dominating sweep through the Sea View

League, Newport Harbor High’s girls water polo team trounced visiting

Woodbridge, 13-2, to capture the league championship Wednesday at Corona

del Mar.

The game was moved from Newport Harbor to CdM because the water in

Newport’s pool was deemed too cold after weeks with a broken boiler unit.

Senior Katherine Belden, junior Jenna Murphy and sophomore Jessica

Ball scored three goals each, while senior Paige Lansing scored twice and

added some impressive assists, as the highly regarded Sailors easily

defeated Woodbridge (13-6, 1-2 in league).

“They’re a lot faster and stronger. We were just happy to score,”

Woodbridge Coach Dion Gray said of the Sailors (17-4, 4-0), who play in

the first round of the Irvine Tournament today against Dos Pueblos at 5

p.m. at Irvine High.

The Tars jumped on the Warriors early with speed on the counterattack,

outscoring the visitors, 9-1, in the first half.

Belden, headed for UCLA, gave the Tars a 1-0 lead with her

team-leading 50th goal of the season. Woodbridge’s Rochelle Gauthier tied

it, 1-1, on a goal with 4:57 left in the opening period, then Newport

Harbor scored nine straight goals through the third quarter.

Murphy scored twice in the first quarter as Newport enjoyed a 4-1

edge, then Belden scored 45 seconds into the second quarter and again

with 5:41 left as the Sailors outscored Woodbridge, 5-0, in the second

quarter.

Ball scored both Newport goals in the third quarter -- a four-meter

shot with 5:12 on the clock and a counterattack goal with 0:30 remaining.

Woodbridge’s Jacquelyn Gauthier ended the drought for the visitors by

drawing an ejection, then scoring on a quick give-and-go from her sister,

Rochelle.

Lansing and Nicky Probert scored for Newport in the fourth quarter,

but one of the game’s most interesting plays involving Lansing and

Probert resulted in a stop for Woodbridge.

Lansing lobbed a shot toward the goal, but it kissed the crossbar, hit

Probert in the forehead and almost went into the cage for a goal.

Jacquelyn Gauthier came up with the ball for Woodbridge before it could

float across the line and pushed it to the goalie.

Newport goalie Leah Grocki finished with six saves as the Sailors

outscored four Sea View opponents this year, 50-5.

“When you have a good counterattack, you can get a lot of goals,”

Newport Harbor Coach Bill Barnett said. “And we’ve got a lot of girls who

can play two meters. We don’t have to rely on just one person. They know

on their own how to go about trading off in there (at two meters).”