CIF SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIP:

IRVINE — One thing the Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo team does is visualize success.

In one of the rare times this season, Coach Aaron Chaney struggled with the right words after the Sea Kings came up short. There was no speech planned after the CIF Southern Section Division I championship.

“I was realizing winning,” said Chaney, who saw a group of Sea Kings soaking in tears while their opponents splashed into the pool.

Chaney pictured being pushed into the water, fully clothed, not Dos Pueblos Coach Danelle Little.

A couple of feet away, Chaney saw Little have more than a little fun Saturday night. It was Little’s 31st birthday the day before and her gift from her players was a Division I championship.

Little held it high. Chaney saw it get away again.

The No. 2-seeded Chargers beat No. 1 CdM, 3-2, at Irvine High. For the second straight season, Chaney walked away knowing the Sea Kings’ goal of claiming a Division I title ended.

So close, so painful. Back-to-back runner-up finishes for the Sea Kings (29-2).

What do you tell your girls after not being able to win the program’s first Division I title?

“If I look disappointed, I’m not disappointed in you, I’m disappointed for you because you guys really deserve this,” Chaney said he told his players before continuing on with, “I don’t know what to tell you.

“Hard work doesn’t guarantee success. Hard work guarantees you an opportunity for success.”

Success is what CdM has visualized and experienced all season.

The season started and ended with Dos Pueblos (28-3).

The Sea Kings began a 14-game winning streak on Dec. 5 at Dos Pueblos. The streak ended at Dos Pueblos on Jan. 17.

Another winning streak started, 15 straight, and Dos Pueblos stopped it Saturday.

The one team that beat CdM earlier in the season did so again, surprising Chaney in how it pulled it off. The Sea Kings blanked sophomore star Kiley Neushul with stellar defense by Heather Van Hiel.

The only times Neushul had been held scoreless was due to being held out of matches because of a right thumb injury.

“If you had asked me before the game if we held them to three goals would we win the game, I’d say, ‘Yeah,’ ” said Chaney, who was looking to add to the program’s trophy case of four Division II titles and one Division IV title. “I thought that we would get more than two goals.”

Goalie Sami Hill and the rest of the Dos Pueblos defense shut down the Sea Kings.

CdM finished with a season-low two goals, one by Van Hiel in the opening period and a power-play goal by Elise Molnar in the final period.

Lower than the goal total was how the Sea Kings felt after 28 minutes of action.

“The girls are pretty beat up about it,” said Chaney, adding that this year’s final loss hurt much more than last year’s 6-5 overtime loss to Newport Harbor. “Last year, we had a three-goal lead going into the fourth quarter [against Newport Harbor]. This time it was two goals down [going into the fourth].

“Last year, we didn’t expect to be in the finals. We just made a great run at the end of the season. We kind of snuck up on people. It was harder to get here this year. Everybody was out to get us. They’ve been working the whole year to get back that loss from last year.”

The Sea Kings put up a valiant effort. Their goalie, Kate Baldoni, matched Hill, stopping impressive shots. The senior bound for Stanford finished with 12 saves. Hill recorded 17.

The difference was many of CdM’s fired shots came from the outside. Little said the strategy was to crash off of CdM’s three weaker players, and focus on Victoria Kennedy, Leslee Kaczmarek, Molnar and Van Hiel.

“They definitely were not letting any of us in two meters have anything,” said Kaczmarek, a senior, of an area the Sea Kings enjoyed success in its two wins against Dos Pueblos.

The Sea Kings challenged Hill’s fractured right thumb. Time after time, she raised her right hand, which was in a brace, showing no fear.

With 12 seconds left, CdM had possession. One last shot to possibly even it up and send the final into a second straight overtime.

The Sea Kings failed to get a shot off, as Hill stole the ball, squeezing it so hard that she said her right thumb didn’t even hurt. That wasn’t the case on CdM’s side.

“The girls last year after the game didn’t cry as much, not because they didn’t care, just because it was new to them. Just getting here was a success and they knew that,” Chaney said. “They came back here for a purpose to win the thing.”

They visualized it, and then reality set it.

CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs

Final

Dos Pueblos 3, Corona del Mar 2

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Dos Pueblos 1-1-1-0--3

Corona del Mar 1-0-0-1--2

DP – Schroeder 1, A. Hill 1, Redfern 1. Saves – Hill 17.

CdM – Van Hiel 1, Molnar 1. Saves – Baldoni 12.

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