Newport Harbor boys' water polo finishes strong against Huntington Beach

Newport Harbor's Mason Hunt (7) scores against Huntington Beach during the first half of a Surf League match in Newport Beach on Wednesday.

By Matt SzaboStaff Writer

Sept. 25, 2019 10:32 PM PT

A physical match broke out Wednesday night in the Surf League boys’ water polo opener between Newport Harbor High and Huntington Beach.

Newport Harbor, it turns out, has the centers to handle such an affair.

Senior Ike Love and junior Eli Liechty combined to foul out all three of Huntington Beach’s set guards by the end of the match.

And though the Sailors struggled on their six-on-five, they finished strong when they needed it most.

Newport Harbor scored the match’s last three goals to beat Huntington Beach 7-4 at home. The Sailors started their try at a third straight league title with a key victory in a match that was often played at a frantic pace.

“Credit to [the Oilers], they were really up for the game,” Newport Harbor coach Ross Sinclair said. “I mean, it was a big game, a league game. You saw the game before [ours, a 10-9 Corona del Mar overtime victory over Laguna Beach], and that was a great game, too. I think all teams know what’s at stake for these Wednesday night [Surf League] games. Yeah, I thought our centers did a really nice job of drawing some exclusions, and I thought our perimeter players did a good job of moving the ball and giving them an opportunity to give us those advantages.”

Eli Liechty and sophomore Mason Hunt each scored twice for the Sailors (9-1), who got one goal each from sophomore Gage Verdegaal, freshman left-hander Ben Liechty and senior left-hander Tommy Kennedy. Kennedy returned after missing nearly all of last weekend’s South Coast Tournament with a sore back.

Senior goalkeeper Blake Jackson made 13 saves for the Sailors, who allowed just one goal in the second half.

“He had a couple of huge saves early, a couple of point-blank saves,” Sinclair said. “He was huge. He just talks so much and helps facilitate our defense.”

Newport Harbor goalkeeper Blake Jackson blocks a shot by Huntington Beach during the first half of a Surf League match in Newport Beach on Wednesday.

Newport Harbor finished the match converting five of its 15 power-play chances. By the time the first half had ended, the score was tied 3-3, but Huntington Beach’s Josh Bowman and Graham Cops had already fouled out.

“We were in a good place mentally going into this game, but what it turned out to be is a little bit overaggressive, right?” Oilers coach Sasa Branisavljevic said. “But we were in a good place mentally, and shape-wise we are there. We are hanging in. There are no issues with the conditioning or the excitement, level of excitement. Obviously, we need to tune that in so it works in our advantage, not the advantage of the other team.”

Credit Huntington Beach junior left-hander Ethan Crooks, who scored twice in the first half, for helping to keep his team in the match.

The teams traded blows in the third quarter. Sailors sophomore lefty Gage Verdegaal scored a cross-cage goal with 2:14 left in the quarter, giving Newport Harbor a 4-3 lead. Huntington Beach (8-4) responded out of a timeout play.

Crooks found senior Cooper Haddad, who flung a strong goal into the back of the net to tie the score yet again. But Haddad was issued a match exclusion penalty with 56 seconds remaining in the quarter. Kennedy scored on Newport Harbor’s subsequent power play, giving the hosts a 5-4 lead headed into the fourth quarter.

The Oilers stayed within a goal until Ben Liechty, who had two assists and two field blocks, found his older brother, Eli, with good inside position. Eli Liechty scored on a lob, and the Sailors had a 6-4 edge with 2:53 remaining in the match.

The final goal came from Ben Liechty on the six-on-five, putting it out of reach for the Oilers.

“We were one for one [on the power play] in the fourth quarter,” Sinclair said. “Ben scored that big goal, and it was a really nice sequence. When we had to execute, we did a good job of that. I think that’s positive.”

Senior Garrett Lee also scored for Huntington Beach, which finished one for six in its power-play situations. Senior goalkeeper Jacob Pyle made nine saves.