CdM girls’ water polo rallies late for Battle of the Bay victory

Corona del Mar High junior Sophie Wallace had a rough Battle of the Bay girls’ water polo rivalry game Friday night, all the way up until the final minute.

She was excluded twice in the first eight minutes of the game, and struggled with her shot.

That final minute, though? It’s one that Wallace won’t soon forget.

She scored the game-winning goal with 33 seconds left as CdM rallied for a 7-6 victory over Newport Harbor at Corona del Mar High, its third straight Battle of the Bay win.

Wallace buried her only goal of the game into the left corner. Freshman Grace Myers then had a late steal in the closing seconds to preserve the win for the Sea Kings (2-0), ranked tied for fifth in CIF Southern Section Division 1 and 2.

“I went into it looking for the shot or [senior captain] Chloe [Harbilas] on the post-up,” Wallace said. “I got the foul, and I grabbed the ball and I looked behind me at [teammates] Megan [Peterson] and Ella [Abbott]. I asked, ‘Mine?’ and they said, ‘Yes.’ We play as a team. I honestly wouldn’t have shot it if it weren’t for them backing me up.”

Newport Harbor (4-2), ranked No. 10 in Division 1 and 2, gave the Sea Kings all they could handle. Not only was Wallace in foul trouble early, but junior center Layne Anzaldo also picked up two kick-outs in the first half.

The Sailors dictated play and led most of the way, taking a 6-4 advantage on junior Kili Skibby’s power-play goal with 2:30 left in the third quarter.

CdM sophomore defender Megan Peterson’s second goal of the game brought the Sea Kings within 6-5 entering the fourth quarter. They then shut out the Sailors in the final quarter to earn the win.

Myers’ backhand goal with 5:42 remaining tied the score at 6-6. Later in the frantic fourth quarter, after a CdM offensive foul, Newport senior Sarah Barker swam down and appeared to have scored the go-ahead goal with 50 seconds left. But after the referees conferred, they ruled the ball wasn’t live on the shot.

The stage was set for Wallace’s game-winner.

“When we got to the fourth quarter, we played our style of play,” said Harbilas, who led CdM with three goals and three steals. “We didn’t play into their physicality or how the refs started reffing.”

Senior goalie Erin Tharp made eight saves for CdM, and Abbott had two assists. Myers added an assist and two field blocks.

Annie Rankin had two goals and two assists for the Sailors, and senior captain Jessica Lynch had an assist and three steals. Erin Ross made seven saves, while goals also came from Kaela Whelan, Barker and Emily Cantu. Karis Couch had two assists and two field blocks.

“That was really big for our girls,” Newport coach Brian Melstrom said. “They played inspired.”

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