Coach Dave Carlson and one of his gritty teams delivered another girls water polo stunner Wednesday.
Los Alamitos followed Carlson’s defensive game plan, played opportunistic and calculating offense and shook up Division 1 by dethroning Sunset League champion Newport Harbor, 6-5, in the league finale at Newport Harbor.
The Griffins (19-8, 5-0), ranked seventh in Division 1, toppled the No. 4 Sailors (19-7, 4-1) and could grab a No. 4 or No. 5 playoff seed when the pairings are released Sunday.
“I’m stoked for the girls,” he said. “It’s really about them.”
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Carlson on Foothill opening: ‘No.”
Updated CIF rankings in water polo
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The final score wasn’t the only surprise from Carlson. He confirmed afterward that he will resign after the season, his 15th at Los Alamitos.
Carlson, who resigned as the Los Alamitos boys coach after the 2012 season, said he will remain a teacher at Los Alamitos and coach club at SOCAL but will close his chapter with the Griffins.
“It’s probably the greatest place to coach water polo,” he said of Los Alamitos. “I just have other things that I’d like to do.”
Carlson’s Los Alamitos boys and Marina girls teams have delivered dramatic CIF upsets, and the Griffins followed his script Wednesday. Behind an active defense, they built a 6-2 lead with 3:36 left in the third and held on.
“He’s the best coach out there,” Los Alamitos senior captain Becca Corb said of Carlson, who guided the Marina girls (1998) and Los Alamitos boys (2004) to CIF titles against undefeated teams. “I’m just proud we finished on a good note for him. … It’s been an honor to play for him for four years.”
Los Alamitos goalie Kennedy Joseph made three of her nine saves in the final 5:10 to anchor the defense. The junior stopped a high perimeter chance with 5:10 left, a shot from center about a minute later and another perimeter attempt with 1:51 left.
“Most improved goalie in SoCal,” Carlson said of Joseph.
Corinna Toledo added a field block with 52 seconds left, preserving a 6-4 lead. Newport Harbor’s Chanel Schilling scored from center with 12 seconds left, but Los Alamitos ran out the final seconds.
Ella Weber and Sarah Siepker each had three steals for Los Alamitos’s defense, which rotated well, helped at 2 meters and created confusion at the point.
The Griffins’ defense also held Newport Harbor’s power play to 0 for 3 and forced 15 turnovers.
“I think we wanted it (the league title) all season and we came out here and played with heart,” Corb said. “I knew we were going to win from the moment we got here because I felt the chemistry.”
Los Alamitos trailed, 2-1, with less than three minutes left in the first period but responded with a 5-0 run to take a 6-2 lead in the third.
Siepker tied the score, 2-2, with 2:04 left in the first by scoring on a long cross pass by Erika Pauley. In the second, a backhanded shot from center by Abbey Blake and a skip shot from Weber gave the Griffins a 4-2 lead at halftime.
The first 3 1/2 minutes of the third proved critical. Toledo quickly scored from center after winning the second-half sprint and Kraft scored off a deflection with 3:36 left in the third for a 6-2 lead.
Los Alamitos‘ defense, meanwhile, forced turnovers on Newport Harbor’s first four possessions of the third and Newport Harbor didn’t take a shot until Rachel Whitelegge tossed a lob shot in off the side post with 3:19 left.
Newport Harbor scored twice in the fourth but Los Alamitos’ defense – led by Joseph, Toledo and Weber – made enough plays to seal the victory.
Kraft signaled the Griffins’ defensive intensity about a minute into the first with a steal in the backcourt. She also drew an exclusion on the play that led to a power-play strike by Siepker for the first goal. Late in the first half, Kraft field-blocked a power-play chance with 45 seconds left in the second that maintained the Griffins’ 4-2 lead.
“I think it mostly has to do with the attitude of the girls,” Carlson said of the defense. “The girls were confident in our press and the rotations that we run. … Tonight, if Newport was going to beat these girls, it was going to be against these girls man-to-man.”
While Los Alamitos‘ attack was diverse, the Griffins also played with patience on offense. They continually passed into center and used much of the shot clock.
Los Alamitos’ last Sunset League title was in 2011.
Carlson said the Griffins could be seeded fourth or fifth and near the Channel League champion in the Division 1 bracket. On Thursday, Santa Barbara (7-0 in the Channel) takes on San Marcos (6-1 in the Channel) for the league title.
“I think we’ll be four,” Carlson said.
Newport Harbor could drop to sixth in the seedings, a pairing that could lead the Sailors to a quarterfinal date with Back Bay rival Corona del Mar.
Center Christina O’Beck scored twice in the first period for Newport Harbor.
In another Sunset League game:
Edison 9, Huntington Beach 5: Junior Sabrina Jensen had four goals and five steals at Newport Harbor to lead the Chargers (15-12, 3-2), who clinched third place.
In the Empire League:
Yorba Linda 14, Pacifica 1: Amy Castellano scored four goals at Garden Grove as the Mustangs (21-7, 5-0) clinched at least a share of the league title.
In the Century League:
In the first game in the playoff for fourth place, El Dorado beat El Modena, 10-7, in overtime. The Golden Hawks then beat Espeanza, 8-7, in sudden-death overtime to clinch the final playoff berth from the Division 1 league.
In nonleague:
Corona del Mar 7, Santa Margarita 6: Bobbi Hoose scored three goals to lead the host Sea Kings, who led, 7-4, early in the fourth.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
