Breaker poloists place third

Laguna Beach goes 3-1 at San Clemente tournament.A week after laying claim to one of the county’s most prestigious girls’ water polo tournaments, the Villa Park Classic, the Laguna Beach Breakers came up short in their bid to win the San Clemente Tournament.

Laguna won its first two matches but fell to Capistrano Valley, 7-6, in the semifinals.

The Breakers bounced back to take the third-place game by routing Pacific Coast League rival Tesoro, 12-2.

In the loss to Capistrano Valley, Laguna took a 6-4 lead into the fourth quarter, but couldn’t maintain it.

“Champions are made and championships are won with defense,” Laguna coach Rick McKee said. “We opened strong against El Toro’s B team and Woodbridge. In the semifinal game versus Capo, our defense completely stopped. We took a 6-4 lead into the fourth quarter, but we let Capo hang around long enough to gain some confidence to tie the game late in the fourth, and then win it in sudden-death overtime due to our lack of defense.”

After missing three point-blank shots, including a penalty shot, a Capistrano player was open five meters in front of the Laguna goal and netted the winning goal.

Laguna began tournament play scoring a 12-4 win over the El Toro B team and crushing Woodbridge, 16-6, in the second round.

The Breakers don’t return to the pool until Jan. 3, when they play San Clemente. Laguna heads into the winter break with a record of 10-2.

“These next two weeks will be a time to allow the girls to recover from the flu and colds and to condition and work out more of the bugs before the start of league and a very important January,” McKee said.

Following the Jan. 3 meeting with San Clemente, the Breakers play Jan. 6 at Tustin, then head north for the Tournament of Champions in Santa Barbara the weekend of Jan. 13-14.

Those key matchups preceded what figures to be a highly competitive league race.

Laguna opens Pacific Coast League play on Jan. 11 at Tesoro.

Last year, the Breakers finished runner-up to Corona del Mar, and the two also met for the CIF-Southern Section Division II championship at Belmont Plaza Pool at the end of the season.

The two teams figure to battle it out for supremacy once again.

Upcoming schedule:

Jan. 3: vs. San Clemente

Jan. 6: at Tustin

Jan. 11: at Tesoro*

Jan. 13-14: at Tournament of Champions, Santa Barbara

Jan. 18: at University*

Jan. 19: at Villa Park

Jan. 24: vs. Los Alamitos

Jan. 25: vs. El Modena

Jan. 27: at Peninsula

Feb. 1: at Corona del Mar*

Feb. 8: vs. Northwood*

(*Pacific Coast League game)