Girls’ Water Polo: Sailors keep upper hand with CdM
GOLETA — With her laid-back demeanor and Birkenstock sandals, Newport Harbor High senior goalie Carlee Kapana seems to fit in just fine in the Santa Barbara area.
Truthfully, though, it doesn’t seem to matter where Kapana and the Sailors girls’ water polo team play rival Corona del Mar this season.
A couple of things have been true every time. It’s a one-goal game, and the Sailors win.
Kapana sparkled again in goal with 14 saves as Newport Harbor bested Corona del Mar for the third time this season, 4-3, in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions third-place game Saturday at Dos Pueblos High.
Each victory against CdM (9-5) has been significant for Newport Harbor (12-4). The Sailors topped the Sea Kings, 5-4, in the Battle of the Bay nonleague game Dec. 12 before besting them again, 7-6, in the Holiday Cup third-place game Jan. 3.
Collectively, the three victories have most likely helped Newport, ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, lock up a top-three seed in CIF. CdM is ranked No. 4, which means an undesirable possible playoff semifinal match against top-ranked defending champion Laguna Beach.
“They’re a good team,” Sailors Coach Bill Barnett said of CdM. “Any time you can beat a good team three times in a row, it’s an accomplishment, I think. We want to hold onto our No. 3 ranking. Then we don’t have to play Laguna until the end [in the Division 1 title match].”
Laguna Beach topped Foothill, 9-5, to defend its Tournament of Champions title and extend its winning streak to 37 matches.
Kapana and senior defender Rachel Whitelegge, both bound for UCLA, were all-tournament selections for Newport Harbor. Whitelegge said Saturday’s win over CdM was also significant because it helped Newport Harbor bounce back from what Barnett deemed a “terrible” 6-2 loss to Foothill in the semifinals.
“We felt pretty terrible about how we played,” said Whitelegge, who had a goal, three steals and two field blocks in the third-place game. “[The semifinal loss] was a real dud of a game. We were like, ‘No, we’re not ending the tournament like this.’ We needed to go out on a good note.”
The game against CdM was tight throughout, tied 1-1, 2-2, and 3-3, respectively, after the first three periods. Kapana helped the Sailors stay in it, blocking a penalty shot by CdM junior all-tournament selection Maddie Musselman in the first quarter. Then, late in the third quarter, Kapana threw an outlet pass that Musselman swiftly intercepted. But, with Musselman alone on the counterattack, Kapana was somehow able to make the save.
Newport Harbor scored the eventual game-winner when senior center Chanel Schilling earned a penalty shot that senior captain Kate Pipkin converted with 3:11 left.
CdM had one last shot in the final minute, when Musselman was fouled by Whitelegge outside of five meters. But she hesitated and leaned in before making a shot attempt, leading to a turnover.
“I think the series of events throughout the game, a couple of blocks by Carlee that Maddie normally scores, definitely played a factor [in the hesitation],” CdM Coach Ross Sinclair said. “But Maddie’s tough as nails. She knows she’s got the green light, and we’ll keep supporting her. Those are two high-level players that remember every moment of the game … we’re one moment, two moments in a row away from really separating ourselves.”
Isabel Leveque and Schilling also scored for the Sailors, while Katie Kearns had two steals. Schilling drew two other exclusions for Newport Harbor, which went two for three on the power play, on which CdM was one for four.
Heidi Ritner made six saves, Musselman had a goal and three steals and senior co-captain Eliza Britt scored twice for CdM. The Sea Kings have converted just four of 22 combined power-play opportunities in the three meetings with Newport Harbor.
“That’s awful, but it’s not like we’re not shooting,” Sinclair said. “We’re getting the looks. We’re one more movement, one more extra pass, one more little detail [away] … but against a world-class goalie, sometimes you’ve got to be world-class yourself. We’ll get there.”
CdM fell in the semifinals to Laguna Beach, 9-3. Musselman, Kaybree Albright and Sarah Lawson all scored for the Sea Kings, and Grace Morgan drew three exclusions. But again the Sea Kings struggled on the power play, converting just one of seven opportunities.
Schilling and Whitelegge each scored goals in the Sailors’ semifinal loss to the Knights, and Kapana made 10 saves. Kearns, Leveque and Schilling each had three steals.
UC Irvine-bound senior center Cana Manzella had three goals to pace Foothill, which held the Tars to no goals in five power plays.
“No counterattack, no driving,” Barnett said. “That was reflected in our score of two goals. I can’t see that they’re doing anything different in the defense they run. We were just not executing. Very, very poor decision-making, in the shooting, especially [on six-on-five].”
But Barnett could feel better after beating his Back Bay rival yet again.
“It’s always a one-goal game,” he said, knowing that he has a goalie that can make a difference in one-goal games.
Twitter: @mjszabo
