Sailors fail to find the end of the rainbow

Bryce Alderton

It’s over.

The Newport Harbor High girls water polo team’s run toward the CIF

Southern Section Division I finals came to a screeching halt

Wednesday afternoon, thanks in large part to six goals from USC-bound

Erika Figge in an 8-6 Santa Margarita victory in the semifinals at

Corona del Mar High.

Newport fans stomped their feet to produce a thunderous rattle

throughout the stands in the fourth quarter as the Sailors (23-6)

tried to climb back. It worked, somewhat, as senior Annie Wight took

passes from Jenna Murphy (one goal), and Raelyn Ritchie, to tally two

of her team-leading three goals to pull Newport to within, 7-6, with

3:02 remaining.

Any thought of a Newport victory was silenced when Figge, wading

about 10 meters out, took a pass from Kacy Kunkel mere seconds after

Newport went back to full strength after an ejection. The Santa

Margarita senior, a member of the U.S. national team, shot

upper-right for her sixth goal, pumping her fist in the air after the

goal.

Santa Margarita (14-5) had lost three times to Newport this season

prior to Wednesday’s win.

“Of course we wanted to beat (Newport), but we just concentrated

on playing our game,” said first-year Eagles’ Coach Kevin Ricks, who

will lead his team Saturday night at Belmont Plaza against defending

CIF Division I champion Foothill, the undefeated No. 1-seed.

“We played with awareness and got the ball to the open player,”

Ricks said.

Santa Margarita passed the ball around the perimeter on several

offensive sets before either getting the ball in to two meters, or

firing from outside.

“We didn’t have very good defense on the six-on-fives,” said

Newport Coach Bill Barnett. “In the first quarter I felt we were

playing not to lose, not aggressively.”

The Eagles blitzed to a 3-0 lead on two goals by Figge and one by

senior Aimee Stachowski, who captured three steals along with Mary

Cousineau (goal and three assists), before the Sailors clawed back

with single goals from Wight and sophomore Anne Belden to make it,

3-2.

“We had lapses here and there,” said Murphy, an All-CIF first-team

selection a year ago who is headed to UCLA next fall, as she wiped

away tears. “Essentially, we couldn’t put the ball in the goal.”

Santa Margarita enjoyed its biggest lead, 7-3, with 6:40 left in

the third period, on a goal by Figge at two meters. The Sailors

answered 32 seconds later on the six-on-five, as senior Ashley Parole

found the net from 10 meters on a kick out.

Newport, which has now lost in the CIF Division I semifinals the

past two seasons after winning the crown in 2000 and 2001, converted

50% (2 for 4) with a player-advantage, while the Eagles scored two

goals on nine six-on-five chances, along with a four-meter penalty

shot by Figge with 21 seconds left in the half.

Murphy, constantly double-teamed at two meters, had trouble

getting the ball at times with Santa Margarita’s aggressive defense.

“(Santa) Margarita came out really hard and prepared,” Wight said.

“They played a great team game. We had to play from behind and there

was a weight knowing you are down. Every once in awhile we would come

back but it wasn’t enough.”

Belden (four steals) and Ball sparked Newport counterattacks with

steals in the third quarter, but Kunkel took the ball out of one

Sailors’ hands before a shot, and two bad passes ended scoring

chances.

Wight mentioned UC Berkeley, USC and UCLA as possible choices for

her to play collegiately next season.

Murphy, Wight, Ritchie (one steal, two assists), Paige Lansing

(one steal), Peggy Beebe, K.T. Adnoff, Jennifer Scharfe and Tiffany

Manderino all suited up for the final time as Sailors.

“We’ve played on teams for six or seven years,” Wight said. “We’re

more like family.”

*--*

CIF Division I

Semifinal S. Margarita 8, Newport 6

Score by Quarters

Newport 2 1 1 2 -- 6

S. Marg 3 3 1 1 -- 8

Newport Harbor -- Wight 3, Belden 1, Murphy 1,

Parole 1. Saves -- Cottam, 0. Santa Margarita --

E. Figge 6, Cousineau 1, Stachowski 1. Saves --

O’Connor, 7

*--*