JUNIOR OLYMPICS:

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA — One coach led the morning match, the other in the afternoon.

It didn’t matter to Nicolina McCall who called the shots.

The result was the same every time out for the Newport Water Polo Foundation 18-and-under girls’ team in the pool.

McCall did her part as Newport opened the S&R; Sports USA Water Polo National Junior Olympics by blowing out its pool-play opponents Thursday.

She capped a successful day at Santa Margarita High by scoring four goals in an 11-5 victory over San Jose Aquatics.

Earlier, Newport beat Lyons Water Polo, from the Chicago area, 19-2. Newport advances to the Platinum Division, with the tournament’s top 24 teams.

McCall, a senior-to-be at Newport Harbor High, expected to be competing on the elite level like other Newport teams have in the past.

This year, however, Newport has a different look.

Not only are there a handful of players who graduated from Newport Harbor in June on the squad, but there’s a player from the school’s rival.

Allison Peotter, a recent graduate of Corona del Mar, is on the team.

This has taken some time getting used to.

“It was weird at first,” said McCall, who last season scored the game-winning goal in overtime to help Newport Harbor come from behind to beat CdM, 6-5, in the CIF Southern Section Division I title game.

“It was kind of like, ‘Ugh! You can’t be on this team. This is like Newport.’ But she fit in well with the team.”

Peotter’s old team, CdM, fared well on the first day as well. CdM went 2-0 to reach the Platinum Division.

The reason Peotter joined Newport was because McCall said CdM doesn’t allow players who have graduated to play on the club team.

“She just wanted to play in the summer,” McCall said, “and heard that [Coach] Jenna [Murphy] was having a team and asked if she could be on it.”

Murphy welcomed her with open arms. You’d understand why. This tournament boasts mostly all-star club teams. And Newport will see more quality clubs today, starting at 8:40 a.m. against Pico Rivera’s El Rancho Water Polo at Capistrano Valley High.

Newport, a team usually made up of current and future Sailors, is reaping the benefits of having a driver in Peotter around.

The first-team All-Pacific Coast League pick who scored 40 goals last season adds to Newport’s scoring prowess. Newport loves to counterattack whenever possible.

Peotter creates problems for the opposition with her speed.

She made a difference against San Jose by opening things up for teammates like McCall, Kathryn Manderino (four goals) and Mimi Bury (two goals).

Bury is one of the graduates who played on Newport Harbor’s championship team. The incoming freshman at Stanford made her presence felt, giving Newport a 4-0 lead in the second period.

The lead allowed Murphy to relax for a moment. She coached the second match after Brian Melstrom guided Newport in the opener.

“[It was] a little hard to transition because I wasn’t here this morning,” Murphy said. “I’m very competitive, so it’s never an easy [time] for me [out here].”

Newport’s early dominance gave Murphy time to adjust.

She spent the first part of her day as a junior lifeguard instructor in Newport Beach, where she said it was “a little hectic.”

At the pool, it wasn’t so much for Murphy.

Morgan Vickers, another recent graduate, continued to make dazzling saves for Newport like the one in which the UC Irvine-bound goalie stopped a five-meter penalty shot.

Things got chaotic for San Jose’s goalie in the fourth.

Newport continued to score at will, collecting five goals in the final five minutes.

“We went back to our full-court press,” Murphy said of the same one Newport used to stifle Lyons in the first game with a different coach.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].