Girls’ Water Polo: CdM defense shines

Nonleague games are rare on the Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo team’s schedule, since the Sea Kings have to play every Pacific Coast League opponent twice.

Saturday morning’s game against visiting San Marcos provided CdM a chance for a non-tournament game against a quality opponent.

The Sea Kings, who have been ranked No. 4 in CIF Southern Section Division 1 nearly the whole season, also hope that their 9-4 win can also be a springboard to a successful end of the regular season.

“If we close out with all wins and win [next weekend’s Irvine Southern California Championships], then I think we can make a case for ourselves to move up from the fourth spot,” CdM Coach Ross Sinclair said. “That is what we’re focused on. We’re going to have to make a serious run toward the end of the season, which is what we’ve been talking about. Today was a step in the right direction, which is good.

“We’re over what happened in Santa Barbara [fourth place], we’re over what happened in the Holiday Cup [fourth place] and we’re over what happened in the Battle of the Bay. We know that if we’re playing at our best, we’re difficult. Today, defensively, was one of those types of displays.”

Corona del Mar (13-5) pulled away in the second half to defeat San Marcos (15-5) in the teams’ first meeting of the season. Sinclair knows that the Channel League-leading Royals, ranked No. 6 in Division 1, are dangerous.

CdM won Saturday’s game with defense, shutting out San Marcos for the final 9:43 of the game after San Marcos standout sophomore Paige Hauschild got separation to score her third goal.

Hauschild, who was an all-tournament team selection as San Marcos placed seventh at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions, accounted for nearly all of the offensive production for the Royals. CdM was more balanced. Less than a minute after Hauschild’s third goal, freshman Chloe Harbilas found emerging sophomore Jaleh Moaddeli on the counterattack, giving CdM a 6-4 advantage after three quarters.

CdM junior co-captain Maddie Musselman scored early in the fourth quarter, putting the Sea Kings up by three goals. The hosts were fortunate later in the quarter, when sophomore Sarah Lawson scored off a block to give CdM an 8-4 lead with 2:12 left in the game.

The final goal came after San Marcos freshman Lili Akin produced her fourth steal in the closing seconds. Moaddeli stole it back, before feeding Musselman with nine seconds remaining.

Musselman had a strong all-around game, with three goals, five steals, two assists, two field blocks and two exclusions drawn. The Sea Kings finished two for six on the power play, while holding San Marcos to one for eight.

“There was a lot of good communication from the girls,” said CdM junior goalie Heidi Ritner, who had nine saves and two steals. “Everyone did really good helping when they needed to, and there was no unnecessary dropping or anything. I thought we were very sharp together. We definitely worked as a team today, and that’s part of the reason why we were able to do what we did.”

Senior co-captain Eliza Britt had two goals and two steals for CdM, as did Moaddeli, who has stepped into a more prominent role for CdM as a sophomore.

“I still want her to shoot more, because she’s got a gift,” Sinclair said. “But you know, she’s a sophomore. It’s hard for her to just step into that role right away, but she’s doing great. We talk about all of the girls being superstars of their roles, and she’s doing it right now. It’s a testament to her; she’s been working really hard. Last year, she just kind of watched and saw it all unfold. Now she’s getting an opportunity to be a part of it, and she’s fulfilling it.”

Senior Grace Morgan also scored and centers Kaybree Albright and Bridgett Storm drew one exclusion each for CdM, which could face San Marcos again Friday in the quarterfinals of the Irvine Southern California Championships. Both teams are in the same group, and they would meet again if they each win their first two games of the 32-team tournament.

San Marcos Coach Brian “Chuckie” Roth will bring his team back to Corona del Mar High yet again next weekend. The Royals also lost to top-ranked Laguna Beach, 16-3, at CdM in a nonleague game Friday.

If his team plays CdM again, Roth hopes to get more production from other players besides Hauschild. Only junior Kate Coski was also able to score a goal Saturday.

“It needs to be a more balanced attack,” Roth said. “Some of the other girls need to step up and take those shots and really carry their own weight, so to speak. That’s something that we’ve talked about all season. That was really what you saw today. We got plenty of looks with Hailey Gellert, they just didn’t go in the cage. She must have barred on five shots that were pretty good shots.”

CdM gets back to league play next week, with a game at Woodbridge on Tuesday before the tournament starts Thursday. The Sea Kings believe they go into it with good momentum.

“[San Marcos] was a nonleague game that we circled and talked about being an important one, knowing that they’re the top team from the Santa Barbara area,” Sinclair said. “It could be a potential quarterfinal or semifinal game in CIF. They’re great. They’re well-coached, they’ve got a balanced team. This week was finals, so it was kind of difficult for us to really train, but the girls did a good job of adjusting.”