Newport Harbor boys’ water polo downs CdM, earns No. 2 seed in Open Division
The Newport Harbor High boys’ water polo team surely picked a good time for its most complete effort.
Under the lights against their Back Bay rivals, the Sailors rose to the occasion Friday night at home.
The result was a decisive 16-6 win over Corona del Mar on the eve of the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs for both programs.
“I thought it was the most focused and dialed in we’ve been all season,” Newport Harbor coach Ross Sinclair said. “We’re getting to that time where you’ve got to be able to elevate your mental approach, and I thought we did a really good job of staying locked in for all four quarters. It’s a good sign for us, and hopefully it means good things in the future.”
Senior center Peter Castillo scored five goals and drew four exclusions for Newport Harbor (24-3), which found out Saturday morning that it earned the No. 2 seed in the Open Division as expected. The Sailors, who have won each of the last two Open Division titles, will host Santa Margarita in a quarterfinal match on Thursday.
No. 1 JSerra, No. 3 Studio City Harvard-Westlake and No. 4 Oaks Christian round out the top four seeds.
“It’s a great way to set the tone,” said Sailors senior center Owen Tift, who had two goals and an assist in the first quarter against CdM to help the hosts start quickly. “We needed a game that we were playing good for all four quarters, and this was the first game. We need to sustain that for the next three games, for CIF. If we do that, we can 100 percent win.”
Surf League champion Newport Harbor was consistent, scoring four goals in every quarter against Wave League champion CdM (23-5). Senior Trey Smith and sophomore Kai Kaneko also scored twice for the winners, who got one goal each from Gavin Appeldorn, Mason Netzer (three assists), Dash D’Ambrosia, Connor Ohl and Ty Hansberger.
Junior goalkeeper Luke Harris made nine saves for the Sailors, adding an assist on a pinpoint counterattack pass to the speedy Ohl, who won all four sprints.
Appeldorn, a standout senior defender, was charged with both an exclusion and a subsequent penalty shot early in the first quarter trying to guard CdM senior center Camren Simoncelli.
But the Sailors didn’t flinch, as Sinclair said Smith and Jack Wright did an admirable job stepping up.
“I feel like that didn’t phase us at all and we just kept going,” Harris said. “The defense was great all game. We didn’t let up at all. Maybe in the past, it would have affected us and the way we played, but our other center defenders really stepped up and played as big as they can.
“I can’t give enough credit to our defense. It’s really, really good and makes me look good. It’s not all just the goalkeeper. Our defense is, I’d say, the best out of all the teams we play.”
Charles Warmington led CdM with three goals, while Luke Zimmerman, Jackson Harlan and Simoncelli had one goal each. Senior goalkeeper Chase Campbell had three saves.
CdM coach Kareem Captan saw his players compete all game, and avoid picking up exclusions in bunches against a talented center like Castillo. But it wasn’t enough.
“They shot really well this game, and we didn’t really find our rhythm a lot,” Captan said. “If we would have dialed some of that in, things would have fallen into place better for us. It was just hard to get an up-and-down rhythm for the game.”
The Sea Kings will hit the road to contest Oaks Christian in the Open Division quarterfinals on Thursday. The teams have split two previous meetings this season.
Newport Harbor now leads CdM 51-42 overall in the Battle of the Bay series, and has won 14 straight times against its rival since 2016.
Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach earn top seeds in Division 1
Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach earned the top two seeds in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs on Saturday.
The Oilers had won a tiebreaker game against the Breakers, 15-10 in overtime, on Thursday to earn the Surf League’s second designated entry into the postseason. Dusan Djordjevic led Huntington Beach with three goals, while Cade Anderton had five goals for the Breakers.
Huntington Beach (17-10) will play at Freeway League champion Troy (17-10) in the first round of the Division 1 playoffs on Wednesday. Laguna Beach (15-11) plays at South Coast League champion San Clemente (11-17) in its first match.
Seven other teams also advance to postseason
Costa Mesa, Edison, Fountain Valley, Marina, Estancia, Los Amigos and Ocean View also will vie in the CIF Southern Section playoffs, and each squad learned its first round opponent on Saturday.
In Division 2, Orange Coast League champion Costa Mesa (9-7) hosts Channel League third-place team Dos Pueblos (20-9) in the first round Tuesday. Meanwhile, Wave League runner-up Edison (12-14) hosts Irvine (14-9), the No. 3 team from the Pacific Coast League.
Wave League at-large team Fountain Valley (14-12) plays at Prep League champion Pasadena Poly (22-3) in a Division 3 first-round match Tuesday. Marina (13-11), also a Wave League at-large, hits the road to face River Valley League champion Riverside Arlington (18-7).
Estancia and Los Amigos both earned home matches to open the Division 4 playoffs Tuesday. The Orange Coast League runner-up Eagles (11-16) will host Freeway League No. 3 representative Buena Park (14-13), while Garden Grove League runner-up Los Amigos (5-10) hosts Empire League No. 3 team Valencia of Placentia (13-13).
In Division 5, Golden West League runner-up Ocean View (14-11) plays at Sunbelt League runner-up Paloma Valley (15-10) in the first round Tuesday.
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