Laguna Beach girls’ water polo can’t quite complete comeback against Foothill in Open Division semifinals
SANTA ANA — The Foothill High girls’ water polo team lit up Laguna Beach in the first half of Wednesday night’s CIF Southern Section Open Division semifinal match.
The top-seeded Knights, playing in their own pool, couldn’t miss early, resulting in a 10-5 halftime advantage over the No. 4 Breakers.
In the huddle at halftime, though, first-year Laguna Beach coach Claire Sonne saw something different than defeat on the faces of her players.
“Every single person, there was no doubt in their mind that we were going to fight like hell,” she said. “I think this team has so much heart, particularly our senior class is just full of incredible leaders. We did not give up that whole game. I think a lot of teams would fold with a five-goal deficit, and we didn’t.”
They never folded, but they also never could quite find the equalizer. Junior center Deirdre Murphy and sophomore attacker EJ Hourigan each scored three goals as Foothill hung on for the 12-11 victory.
For the first time since 2018, Laguna Beach’s ring chase ended in a round before the title match. Foothill will play No. 2-seeded Orange Lutheran, a 6-4 winner over Los Alamitos in the second semifinal, for the title on Saturday at Irvine’s Woollett Aquatics Center.
Laguna Beach (19-9), which got three goals each from junior Ava Knepper and sophomore Presley Jones on Wednesday night, will compete in the CIF Southern California Regionals next week.
The Breakers, who had beaten Foothill (24-4) in two of the team’s previous meetings this season, scored three straight goals out of halftime on Wednesday to pull within 10-8 and leap back into the match. Senior center Charlotte Riches scored a six-on-five goal, then Knepper and senior attacker Myha Pinto added counterattack strikes.
“It’s a tough mental game when you’re down by that much, especially in a big game and this kind of atmosphere,” Riches said. “I’m really proud of our individual mental toughness ... Even though we didn’t know if we were going to win or not, we knew we wanted to play better than we did in that first half.”
Jones fed junior Emmy Hensley on a lob goal from close range to pull Laguna Beach within 10-9 late in the third quarter, but Foothill freshman Kirra Pantaleon immediately responded with a power-play goal.
Twice in the fourth quarter, too, Laguna Beach would pull within a goal. Jones’ power-play strike, assisted by Knepper, pulled the Breakers within 12-11 with 3:30 remaining. But the tying goal never came.
Jones got a good look from outside off a timeout in the final minute, but UC Irvine-bound Foothill senior goalkeeper Rachel Kirchner reached up for her 10th save.
“We went with a play that has been successful against this team, and it wasn’t that time,” Sonne said. “But it is what it is. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t devastated and the team wasn’t heartbroken, because we are. I think that just shows that we really put our heart on the line today and all season, and that’s all I can ask for.”
Laguna Beach senior goalkeeper Lauren Schneider made five of her seven saves in the second half, and the Breakers also got two goals and two steals from senior Cleo Washer. Sophomore Kara Carver also chipped in a pair of steals.
Pantaleon scored twice for Foothill, as did USC-bound senior utility player Rachel Gazzaniga.
“They came back, but luckily we kept ourselves together,” Foothill’s Hourigan said. “We knew we would. We just stuck as a team and played for each other, not ourselves. They were posting stuff [on social media before the game], trying to get in our head, but we knew if we stuck together and played our game we could win.”
There were tears on the Laguna Beach side after the final whistle. The Breakers had shown throughout the season that they had the ability to beat any team in the division, and they showed it in the second half Wednesday, too, even if the rally came up just short.
“I think we came into this game knowing that no matter what, we wanted to remember it as a fun game celebrating with our best friends,” Riches said. “I think that the second half of that game showed that. Even though we didn’t have the outcome we wanted, I’m going to remember this game as one with amazing moments with my best friends. I’m proud of that, and I’m proud of every single person that added so much to this team.”
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