CdM wins Battle

MISSION VIEJO — Incoming Corona del Mar High senior girls’ water polo goalie Heidi Ritner is not brash, and she’s certainly not boastful.

To be clear, however, Ritner also does not like to lose.

CdM had done much of that in the past year to Newport Harbor, losing to its Back Bay rival at the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics in the Bay Area last summer. The Sea Kings were not any more successful during the high school season, losing to the Sailors three times and all by a single goal.

Ritner was a big reason why CdM ended that streak Saturday in the teams’ lone summer Battle of the Bay matchup this year.

She made 16 saves as the CdM Aquatics 18-and-under girls beat Newport Water Polo Foundation, 7-5, in a Junior Olympics game at Capistrano Valley High.

“I think losing to them four times in a row in official games kind of makes us want to win a little bit more,” said Ritner, who has been CdM’s starting goalie since she was a sophomore. “I know I want to win more now.”

No. 19-seeded CdM went on to earn its second upset of the tournament Saturday night. CdM beat No. 11-seeded Huntington Beach Orange, 6-4. CdM will conclude its strong tournament Sunday, when it plays for 13th place against Elite at Capo Valley.

Newport lost to Lamorinda, 10-9, on a Lamorinda goal with one second left in the game. Newport will play for 19th place against Foothill Red on Sunday at 10:20 a.m. at Beckman High. Newport lost to Foothill Red, 11-5, earlier in the tournament.

CdM, coming off a tough shootout loss to Diablo on Saturday night, certainly did not appear down early against Newport. CdM opened a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, with Chloe Harbilas scoring first on six-on-five on Jaleh Moaddeli’s assist. Then Moaddeli earned a steal and scored, before she found the back of the net again late in the first quarter from seven meters.

“At the state tournament, our offense was a little slow to get rolling, and our girls have done a nice job adjusting,” CdM Coach Kevin Ricks said. “I think they’re progressing, and learning a little bit more about playing a complete game.”

Moaddeli, continuing a strong tournament, had four goals, three steals and two assists against Newport.

“She’s real dynamic and she’s got a great feel for the game,” Ricks said. “She’s got a good sense of how to use her athleticism, and take advantage of that. And it’s on both sides of the ball. She’s an excellent defender, and she’s able to create scoring opportunities for herself and for other people.”

CdM led 4-1 late in the first half, but Newport drew closer as former longtime coach Bill Barnett looked on. Newport used a power-play strike by Sarah Barker with three seconds left in the half, then Claire Tafoya also scored a power play goal, assisted by Sammie Garcia, early in the third.

The one-goal deficit would be as close as Newport would get. Moaddeli drove inside to score on Sarah Lawson’s assist, then senior center Bridgett Storm scored on the counterattack. After Moaddeli scored a backhand goal assisted by Tia DiGiovanni, CdM had grown its lead to 7-3 with 31 seconds left in the third quarter.

“Even though it isn’t an official Battle of the Bay, every time we play them, the rivalry will always be there,” Moaddeli said. “It doesn’t matter when we play them. Even in scrimmages, we’re always pumped up to play them and always pumped up to win. It’s really fun to play them … The two games before us ended in a shootout, and we did not want our game to end up in a shootout.”

Harbilas had a goal, a steal and drew a penalty shot for CdM, which also had Emily Ritner score a goal and Kelly Morgan and Caitlin Harvey earn steals.

Katie Kearns had two goals to lead Newport Harbor, while Barker had a goal, two steals and a field block. Lissa Westerman drew three exclusions, while Maddy Kanzler (four saves) and Chloe Schilling (one) split time in goal.

The loss was all in the family to Newport Coach Brian Melstrom, as he and Ricks are brothers-in-law. He said his team struggled in outside shooting. Jessica Lynch, an incoming Newport Harbor sophomore, will help in that area. Lynch is playing for the SOCAL 16-and-under team in the Junior Olympics, coached by her father, former Newport Harbor boys’ coach Jason Lynch. That team is in the 16U semifinals on Sunday morning.

“When we have her, and we get some girls with a little bit more confidence and balance on their legs, I think we’ll always be giving [CdM] a fight,” Melstrom said. “But in the core positions, they are a little bit stronger than us, and that’s the difference. That’s that two-goal difference, right there.

“They’ve got the better goalie [Ritner] and the better center [Storm]. They’re a very good team, I’m not going to take anything away from them … He’ll get some wins and I’ll get some wins. He got the first one.”

Lawson led CdM against Huntington Beach Orange with three goals scored, and Harbilas scored twice. Ritner made 11 saves.

Kearns led Newport with five goals in the tough-luck loss to Lamorinda. Westerman had three, and Josie Miller one, while Kanzler and Schilling each made two saves.

After finishing up the Junior Olympics on Sunday, Newport’s 18U girls will prepare to fly to Hawaii on Monday morning. They’re playing in the Hawaiian Invitational tournament next week.

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•In other Junior Olympics action, one 18-and-under team featuring local athletes will play for a medal in the platinum bracket.

SET A, which features Newport Harbor graduates Kate Pipkin and Rachel Whitelegge, beat San Diego Shores, 9-4, in a quarterfinal game Saturday. SET A will play top-seeded Santa Barbara 805 A in the semifinals Sunday at 9:30 a.m. at Irvine’s Woollett Aquatics Center. The third-place game (4:30 p.m.) and the final (4:45 p.m.) are also at Woollett.

SOCAL Black, featuring Newport Harbor graduate Chanel Schilling and Sage Hill’s Rachael Jaffe, fell to Commerce, 14-11, in a quarterfinal game Saturday. SOCAL will play for fifth on Sunday at 11:30 a.m., at Capo Valley High.

Also, in the 10-and-under co-ed division, Newport Beach Water Polo Club has advanced to the semifinals. Newport Beach will play Vanguard Blue at 7 a.m. Sunday at El Toro High. The 10U championship match is scheduled for noon Sunday, at Woollett.