CdM girls’ water polo surges into Division 1 semifinals

Whatever unease existed within Corona del Mar’s girls water polo program when this season began three months ago, the kind of stuff that comes with a new coach and his new methods and a young, largely inexperienced group stepping up after a vast, talented senior class’ departure, is long gone.

In its place, billowing chemistry and confidence and a belief, not without reason, that the Sea Kings’ eighth CIF Southern Section championship is within grasp.

A tough regular-season campaign, filled with the usual ups and downs and concluding with a share of the Surf League cellar, has produced a team now in full blossom. It seems too easy.

Two Division 1 playoff games, two blowout triumphs, the latest Saturday evening’s 20-5 romp over visiting Riverside King that niftily brandished the No. 1 seed’s ample qualities.

CdM’s Didi Evans looks for an opportunity against Riverside King on Saturday.

(Courtesy of Aki Cloherty)

Brown-bound defender Ava Schoening, Corona del Mar’s lone starting senior, scored seven goals and led a suffocating defensive effort that forced the Wolves into turnovers on 26 of 43 possessions, 16 of 23 after halftime.

The Sea Kings’ other two big deals provided gargantuan performances. Junior center Reagan Weir dominated in front and scored five goals, including a pair as CdM (18-11) roared to a 4-0 advantage in the first three minutes. Junior wing Didi Evans was masterful defensively and selfless in attack, driving a deadly transition game while assisting six goals and scoring another.

It was 9-1 at the break and 15-3 after three quarters. Big VIII League champion King (17-10), ranked ninth, never had a chance, no matter its savvy defensive adjustments and Bailey Rosa’s precision, good for four goals, when the rare chance arrived.

“[This performance shows] that we’re ready to play,” said first-year CdM head coach Marc Hunt, who ran UC Irvine’s men’s program for 17 years and was co-founder of Back Bay Aquatics. “We want to be playing our best water polo in February. That’s a goal back in November, to talk about are we going to be on that uptick. ... We want to see this firepower. We want to see ourselves firing on all eight cylinders, definitely.”

Things now get tougher. Fifth-ranked Dos Pueblos (19-9), a longtime power from Goleta, heads to Eastbluff for Wednesday’s semifinal, and success there would bring a title showdown with No. 2 San Clemente or No. 3 JSerra — CdM has beaten both in close games — on Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College.

CdM goalkeeper Gabby MacAfee rises up for a save attempt during Saturday’s match.

(Courtesy of Aki Cloherty)

“I think it’ll be fun. I love good competition,” said Schoening, one of two seniors on the roster. “It will be a challenge, but we work each other at practice, and that’s where we’re getting our close games. We’re 1-1 when we scrimmage each other, and that helps a lot when we work hard.”

The Sea Kings’ size, speed and physicality was too much for King — coach Taryn Morales said facing CdM was “good for the girls to see there’s a different caliber out there.” They forced two turnovers to take a 2-0 lead, on goals by Weir and Tia Wells, in the first 51 seconds. Wells hit the crossbar on the next possession, and then
Audrey Long and Weir scored 40 seconds apart for a 4-0 advantage.

King’s defensive adjustments throughout were momentarily effective, but CdM’s responses led to flurries of goals, many on quick transitions and long passes toward the Wolves’ cage. Schoening scored five goals in succession — the first on one of the Sea Kings’ of two successful 6-on-5s, another on a 5-meter penalty shot — bridging the third and fourth quarters.

The star trio, all U.S. junior national team veterans, were special.

“Didi, the left-hander, creates for herself defensively,” Hunt said. “Reagan is dominant, a workhorse and difficult for anyone to guard her. And Ava’s defense just puts [foes] to sleep, and she adds to that offensive element, too. It’s really difficult to deal with all three of them, and complement the other girls that work well with them.”

Audrey Long winds up for a shot during CdM’s victory on Saturday night.

(Courtesy of Aki Cloherty)

Long netted three goals, Tia Wells added three assists and her twin sister, Kiara, tallied twice, and Sadira Anavim came off the bench late to score Corona del Mar’s finale.

Goalkeepers Gabby MacAfee and Dahlia Archer, the team’s other senior, combined for nine saves.

Corona del Mar went 1-5 in the Surf League, splitting games with Los Alamitos. Every other loss was to teams in the top-tier Open Division and to San Diego’s top program.

The bruising schedule helped. So did chemistry.

“We’ve worked really hard the whole season to get to this point,” Weir said. “I don’t
think we expected this to come as far at the beginning of the season, because this is a whole new varsity team. ... Having a new coach, that’s been different [and it] certainly hindered our performance [early in the season]. New coaching style, new everything, and I think we all overcame that. We all adapted really well.

“I think it’s, honestly, just our work ethic and our drive to win the whole thing. We all have our minds on winning that ring, and I think we can do it with the mentality we have now.”

CdM head coach Marc Hunt, center, draws up a play for the team during Saturday’s match.

(Courtesy of Aki Cloherty)

The Sea Kings last won the title in 2022, also from difficult circumstances: a relatively new coach, echoes of the COVID pandemic, an 0-6 run in the Surf League.

“Two years ago was kind of the same thing,” Schoening said. “Melissa Seidemann was a new coach and we beat adversity. And I think we’re on the same path this year. It would be awesome [to win CIF]. Winning something just shows all your hard work throughout the season, and especially what we’ve been putting in the off season stuff, and that’s all showing right now.”