Girls’ Water Polo: Deep CdM earns victory against Santa Margarita
Corona del Mar High seniors Devon Cooper, Tia DiGiovanni, Caitlin Harvey and Abigail Klein have all been in the girls’ water polo program for a while.
The Sea Kings’ other two seniors, center Bridgett Storm and goalie Heidi Ritner, are returning starters and co-captains. But Cooper, DiGiovanni, Harvey and Klein came into this season a bit short on varsity experience.
It wasn’t so easy to tell on Wednesday afternoon. The four seniors off the bench all contributed as CdM beat Santa Margarita, 11-4, in a nonleague game at the Sea Kings’ pool.
Corona del Mar (2-0), ranked No. 5 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, played everyone and showed off its depth. DiGiovanni had an assist and a steal, Harvey had an assist and Klein had a steal for the winners.
“We know that our team wouldn’t be the same without us, no matter how much time we get playing,” DiGiovanni said. “We get a lot of experience in practice, and it’s good to get in and apply everything that we have learned. We have to fight for playing time, so when we do get it, we have to just show what we have, our skills.”
Storm scored four goals for the Sea Kings and junior Jaleh Moaddeli had a strong game with three goals, three steals, three field blocks and two assists. Ritner had six saves and two assists, before sophomore goalie Erin Tharp played the fourth quarter in goal and had two steals.
Two of Moaddeli’s field blocks came with CdM in five-on-six defense, which was a familiar position throughout the game as Santa Margarita (3-2) drew plenty of exclusions. But the Eagles finished just two for 10 on the power play, adding a penalty shot conversion. CdM converted one of its two power-play chances, both drawn by Storm.
“Six-on-five [defense], for me it’s pretty stressful, but one way that I try to be successful is staying calm and not really freaking out,” Moaddeli said. “It’s hard to be calm and be aware with the ball moving really fast and people moving all around you, but I just take a deep breath when I hear the whistle for the ejection. Just be aware, look around and see what’s going on ... We’ve been practicing five-on-six a lot. We’re working really well as a team, so that helps us a lot in five-on-six.”
DiGiovanni said the program also has been helped because the girls have been able to practice with alumni Maddie Musselman (now on the national team), Sami Pratt (University of Michigan) and Grace Morgan (Cal) in recent days.
“It’s a national team member and two really good collegiate players,” DiGiovanni said. “It’s a nice opportunity that not everyone can have.”
CdM started a bit slow in its first game since Friday night’s Battle of the Bay win, taking just a 4-2 advantage at halftime. But the Sea Kings scored four unanswered goals in the third quarter to turn the game into a rout. Storm scored twice from center, Emily Ritner scored on the power play and Moaddeli added a counterattack goal.
CdM Coach Kevin Ricks said his team turned up the intensity and was more aware in the second half. Ricks was not really overly sentimental about coaching against his former team, which he led to the CIF Southern Section Division 2 championship in 2013 before the Eagles’ current coach, Brian Weathersby, helped Santa Margarita repeat in 2014.
The only girl still on Santa Margarita who Ricks coached was senior Sophia Baia, who had a goal for Santa Margarita on Wednesday along with her younger sister, Bella, plus senior Riley Cunningham and junior Delaney Mazelin.
“It’s always amazing how time flies,” Ricks said. “When I think of Sophia, I think of her as a little freshman on our team, and now she’s the senior.”
Ricks has two freshmen on this year’s CdM team and both played against Santa Margarita as well. Sophie Wallace recorded her first varsity goal, while Layne Anzaldo also played well at center.
Junior Sarah Lawson and sophomore Chloe Harbilas also both scored for CdM, while junior Kelly Morgan had a pair of steals to help with the team effort.
“Any time you’re able to spread the wealth, that’s great for team chemistry and morale and all that,” Ricks said. “We’re not going to be a successful team just because we have one or two good players. For us to be successful this year, the girls on the bench are going to have to work really hard in practice and support the team that way, and also understand that in those moments when they come in they have a job to do and a role. They need to work really hard to be prepared for it and help us out. I thought the girls off the bench did a really nice job of coming off the bench, matching up and defending some pretty tough kids out there.”
CdM returns to action next week in the annual Holiday Cup tournament. The Sea Kings open against Rosary at 10:40 a.m. Tuesday at CdM. They could face Santa Barbara, ranked No. 7 in Division 1, in the tournament quarterfinals later Tuesday.
