Tars Triumph: Newport Harbor boys' water polo dominates Huntington Beach for CIF title

Newport Harbor sophomore Peter Castillo, center, cheers with teammates after the Sailors defeated Huntington Beach.

By Matt SzaboStaff Writer

Nov. 13, 2021 7:45 PM PT

Players on the Newport Harbor High boys’ water polo team had a special alumnus speak to them the night before the biggest match of the season.

Drew Lawson, the 1984 CIF Southern Section Division 4A Co-Player of the Year who went on to play at Stanford, gave advice to the current squad.

“He wanted to give us some words of wisdom and just kind of prepare us mentally,” Sailors senior co-captain Gage Verdegaal said. “I think his speech to us really set us up for knowing that we can win this. As long as we come in with the right mindset, we knew we could win.”

Lawson was a CIF champion in 1984, the last time that late legendary coach Bill Barnett led the Sailors boys to the title. Current coach Ross Sinclair also mentioned Barnett on Saturday in his postgame remarks.

The Sailors’ program is steeped in tradition, but it had been a while since Newport Harbor had been able to put a ring on it.

That changed Saturday.

Emphatically.

Newport Harbor head coach Ross Sinclair, center, and senior Gage Verdegaal, bottom, jump into the pool in celebration.

No. 3-seeded Newport Harbor blitzed top-seeded rival Huntington Beach in the first half and won the inaugural Open Division title 12-7 before an overflow crowd at Irvine’s Woollett Aquatics Center.

It’s the Sailors’ 13th Southern Section title, but first since 2007. It’s also the first CIF crown for alumnus Sinclair, a sophomore on the 2000 CIF Division I championship team, as a head coach.

Verdegaal, junior left-hander Ben Liechty and emerging sophomore center Peter Castillo each scored three goals for the Sailors (25-5), who played perhaps their most complete match of the season.

“I can’t say enough about this group of guys,” Sinclair said. “People were talking about us being the underdogs, which is fine. We know who we are, our identity and what we play for. Today and even in the semifinal, really all season long, we played really high-level, consistent water polo. I’m so proud of this group of seniors, proud of everyone involved.”

The Newport Harbor boys' water polo team poses with the championship plaque Saturday afternoon.

Newport Harbor scored five straight goals in the second quarter and surged to an 8-2 halftime advantage. The passing was crisp, and the defense was swarming.

Huntington Beach was held scoreless in seven power-play opportunities in the match, while Newport Harbor converted six of eight chances.

Oilers Coach Sasa Branisavljevic, whose program still has yet to win a CIF title, said his team was intimidated by the Sailors’ large crowd. It included members of the Tarpit student cheering section and girls’ volleyball team, which came out to give its support before playing in a CIF Southern California Regional Division III semifinal match Saturday night.

“We got scared of the crowd,” Branisavljevic said. “That’s really what it is. I wish we were better equipped for something like that. We tried various things, like visualizing what it’s going to be like. But when you have however many people chanting in the stands, it’s a crazy atmosphere for high school students. Even for myself, I was blown away by the level of support they had.”

The Surf League champion Oilers (19-3), who had a 10-match winning streak snapped, got within 9-5 late in the third quarter on senior Matthew Morgan’s goal.

But Newport Harbor’s Verdegaal immediately responded with a power-play goal, then senior Richie Rimlinger pushed in a rebound goal to give the Sailors an 11-5 lead after three quarters.

Newport Harbor senior Will Fosselman reacts after scoring a goal against Huntington Beach during the first half Saturday.

Newport Harbor junior goalkeeper Cooper Mathisrud played well again and made 10 saves, including a penalty-shot stuff in the first quarter. Mathisrud’s fingertip save of a lob shot by Huntington Beach’s James Rozolis-Hill midway through the fourth also fired up the Newport crowd.

Rozolis-Hill, a senior center who had scored 14 goals in two previous Open Division matches, drew seven exclusions Saturday but was held to a single goal. Senior Nikola Mirkovic led the Oilers with three goals.

Senior co-captain Mason Hunt and senior center Will Fosselman added one goal each for Newport Harbor, while senior Billy Rankin led the team with three steals.

Huntington Beach senior Nikola Mirkovic scores against Newport Harbor during the first half.

After the final buzzer, the Sailors had their celebratory jump in the pool. They then sang the school’s alma mater, further emphasizing the history of the program.

They finally broke through in their third straight final in the top division, after losing the Division 1 title match in 2018 and 2019 to Studio City Harvard-Westlake. There were no playoffs last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Newport Harbor also became the first public school team to win the top division since El Toro in 2009.

“We’re a family,” Hunt said. “I think we work harder than any team, and it speaks to the culture that Ross has developed in his program. I don’t think any program coached by Ross Sinclair, or any Newport program, can be considered underdogs. I think there’s such a tradition of excellence and professionalism and hard work.”