Girls’ Water Polo: Wallace stuns Foothill at buzzer
The lob shot in water polo is a difficult shot to master.
Maybe Corona del Mar High sophomore Sophie Wallace should start charging for lessons.
It’s become a deadly one for Wallace. And the most improbable lob of all is the reason that CdM has advanced to the semifinals in the Holiday Cup tournament.
Wallace’s cross-cage lob from near mid-tank at the buzzer shocked Foothill on Thursday afternoon, lifting the Sea Kings to a 6-5 victory at the CdM pool in a tournament quarterfinal game.
Corona del Mar (4-0) stays undefeated this season. More importantly, the Sea Kings advance to the tournament semifinals, where they will play Orange Lutheran in the second semifinal at 11:45 a.m. Friday at Newport Harbor High.
The first semifinal will feature Laguna Beach (6-0), which routed Santa Barbara, 19-6, in another quarterfinal game Thursday. The three-time defending tournament champion Breakers will play Mater Dei, a 20-10 winner over Newport Harbor, at 10:40 a.m.
The tournament championship game is scheduled for 4:05 p.m., also at Newport Harbor.
Wallace scored her team’s final three goals to lift CdM against Foothill. She has nine goals this season for the Sea Kings, and several have come on lobs. She helped CdM tie the score in the third quarter on a lob, then her post-up goal late in the third quarter gave the Sea Kings a 5-4 advantage.
But Foothill junior Val Ayala drew a penalty shot and scored it with 4:02 remaining in regulation, knotting the score at 5-5. That remained the score until the final seconds, when Wallace was fouled at mid-tank with seconds to play. The shot was barely deflected by Foothill goalie Molly DiLalla, but dropped into the bottom right corner of the net.
“When I got the ball and they fouled me, I looked at Chloe [Harbilas],” Wallace said. “Her defender was guarding her, and she looked at me and said, ‘You.’ That’s when I looked and shot it.
“Ever since eighth grade, it’s kind of been my go-to [shot] if I see shot-blockers or if I see a last-minute opportunity. Today, I was shooting very high. I was kind of off today with my fast shot. I got really down on myself, so I threw a lob [in the third quarter]. It went in, so I tried it again.”
The Sea Kings can be glad she did. Senior captain Jaleh Moaddeli contributed two goals and two steals for CdM, and Harbilas also scored a goal. Junior goalie Erin Tharp played through sickness to record 11 saves, several of them of the close-range variety.
“Erin’s been real steady in the first [four] games for us,” said CdM Coach Kevin Ricks, whose team blanked Edison, 18-0, in the first round behind four goals each from Harbilas and sophomore Layne Anzaldo. “She’s done a good job of just staying focused. She’s super-competitive. She doesn’t want other teams to score on her, flat out, and she holds herself to really high expectations.”
The Sea Kings are excited to play Orange Lutheran, a team they scrimmaged against about a month ago.
“We’re nervous, but we’re also excited to try and take down the CIF reigning champions,” Wallace said. “If we work as a team, we’re feeling pretty confident. Our chemistry has been spot on this tournament, and this week.”
Top-seeded Laguna Beach, going for its fourth straight tournament title, also has reason to feel confident. The Breakers played well, pounding Santa Barbara after defeating Rancho Bernardo, 23-1, in the tournament first round.
Laguna senior captain Aria Fischer led the way against Santa Barbara with five goals, including one of her own from mid-tank at the halftime buzzer. Senior lefty Bella Baldridge had her typical well-rounded game with four goals, three assists and three steals.
Junior Sophia Lucas had three goals for Laguna, while Alex Peros (four steals) and Claire Sonne each scored twice. Evie Laptin and Evan Tingler also added goals, while Thea Walsh made nine saves against Santa Barbara.
The Breakers played quickly, seemingly counterattacking at will.
“[Walsh] is a great passer,” Laguna Beach Coach Ethan Damato said. “We’re a fast-paced team, and I think we have been for the last four or five years. That’s definitely something that we want to be a staple for us, our counterattack, to make teams have to swim with us. We spend a lot of time conditioning and working on that.
“I definitely think we’re playing well, for sure, and I’m pleased with a lot of the things the girls are doing. But I think if you ask any of the girls, we all feel like we can play better. By no means are we a finished product at this point of the year, but I’m definitely encouraged with the style and the way we’re playing.”
Newport Harbor (7-2) got past Rosary, 12-5, in the opening round of the tournament behind four goals from junior Sarah Barker. Jessica Lynch and Karis Couch both scored twice, while Kaela Whelan, Kili Skibby, Linnea Kelly and Lissa Westerman scored one goal each. Annie Rankin had two steals.
But the Sailors met their match against Mater Dei as they were outscored, 11-4, in the second half. Barker, Lynch, Couch and Quincy Morgan all scored twice in the game, with Skibby and Westerman adding single goals.
Newport Harbor will play Santa Barbara in a fifth-place semifinal Friday at 8:30 a.m., at Newport Harbor High.
Edison lost twice on the tournament’s first day, to CdM (18-0) and Coronado (16-3). The Chargers will play CdM’s “B” team in a 13th-place semifinal at 9:35 a.m. Friday, at CdM.
