Laguna Beach repeats
For the second straight year, the Laguna Beach High girls’ water polo team has won a major summertime tournament.
The Breakers repeated as champions of the California State High School Championships. The tournament, which featured 48 girls’ teams, concluded Sunday at Corona del Mar.
Laguna won each of its five games, taking the title by defeating longtime nemesis Corona del Mar, 9-2, in the championship match. The Breakers were in command throughout and led, 8-0, through three quarters.
Natalie Selin, Ally Joachim, Sophia Lucas and Sophie Leggett each scored two goals, Bella Baldridge scored once and had five steals and three assists, and Mia Salvini had three steals and two assists for Laguna. Goalie Holly Parker made 11 saves.
The Breakers were without Aria Fischer a U.S. national team member who was competing at the U.S. Open. Goalie Thea Walsh was available for the tournament but didn’t play due to a hip flexor, Laguna Coach Ethan Damato said.
Laguna is the two-time defending CIF Southern Section Division 1 champion. The Breakers defeated the Sea Kings in the division semifinals last February.
The Breakers also defeated the Sea Kings in last year’s state tournament finale.
“I thought it was a fun tournament,” Damato said. “To not be at full-strength and still win it, is great. It showed a lot of character from this team.
“That said, we didn’t play well early in the tournament. It was really great to get a challenge in the semifinals and I thought the girls responded well by coming back to play aggressively in the final which is where I thought we played our best.”
Laguna was challenged in the semifinal round by Orange Lutheran. The Lancers, champions of the Trinity League and a CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinalist this past season, took a 3-2 lead into the fourth quarter. The Breakers pulled into a tie, went ahead and ended up winning the back-and-forth game in a shootout.
In their first three tournament games, the Breakers defeated Clovis, San Diego Rancho Bernardo and Huntington Beach.
The high school championships was the final summer event for the Breakers who held their final summer practice session Tuesday.
“It was a good summer and this [title] was a great way to end the season,” Damato said.
Members of the Laguna Beach team are now preparing for the USA Water Polo National Junior Olympics, Damato said. They start tournament play Thursday.
In the boys’ high school championships title match Sunday at Foothill High, Mater Dei defeated Studio City Harvard-Westlake, 13-7. The game was a rematch of the 2014 CIF-SS Division 1 final won by Harvard-Westlake last November.
The Laguna Beach girls’ squad playing in the state high school championships tournament was: Danielle Borelli, Ally Jochim, Holly Parker, Gabrielle Beran, Natalie Selin, Kyla Whitelock, Sophia Lucas, Delaney Gendron, Thea Walsh, Mia Salvini, Bella Baldridge, Haley Evans, Alana Evans, Angelique Begay, Sophie Leggett and Isabel Riches.