Makenzie Fischer enjoys challenges but the Laguna Beach water polo standout is excited about her help this week as the Breakers attempt to defend their title at the Holiday Cup.
Fischer’s sister, Aria, is expected to return from a bruised knee to play in the tournament, which runs Friday and Saturday at Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar.
“She is a go,” Laguna Beach coach Ethan Damato said in a text message Monday night.
Laguna Beach (5-0) posted a 3-0 mark during Aria’s absence but needed a late goal from Makenzie and last-second save from goalie Holly Parker to clinch a 9-8 victory against Newport Harbor last week.
“It was a challenge without Aria but I think it is fun that way (too),” Makenzie said after the triumph. “But we’re looking forward to having Aria back and being at full-strength.”
The Breakers and second-ranked Foothill (6-0) are the top-two seeds in the 16-team Holiday Cup. No. 3 Newport Harbor is seeded second in Laguna Beach’s group while No. 4 Corona del Mar is the second seed behind Foothill.
Laguna Beach captured the tournament for the first time last season en route to the CIF Division 1 crown. The Breakers will enter this week’s tournament riding a 26-match winning streak.
The Holiday Cup includes No. 6 Orange Lutheran (8-1), No. 7 Santa Margarita (4-2), No. 10 Rosary (3-3) and preseason-ranked Edison (4-7).
First-round matches start Friday at 8:30 a.m. with the semifinals Saturday at Newport Harbor at 10:40 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. The placement games for the top-eight teams start at 12:50 p.m. at Newport Harbor and run to the championship at 4:05 p.m.
DANGEROUS SHOOTER
Makenzie Fischer’s shooting generated plenty of praise after her seven-goal performance against Newport Harbor, which included the game-winning goal from 6 meters with 23 seconds left.
“Not many girls can shoot that hard and accurately under pressure,” Newport Harbor assistant coach Brian Melstrom said of the U.S. national team player. “She’s a heck of a player.”
Added Newport Harbor goalie Carlee Kapana, a teammate with Makenzie on the U.S. youth team that claimed gold at the world championships over the summer: “I’m trying to get (her shooting) down. She just shoots so hard. Sometimes it’s really unexpected, hard to read. She’s really good at making it unreadable, like where she is going to shoot it.”
Shooting is one area that Makenzie — last season’s county player of the year — has worked on to improve.
“I’ve definitely been focusing on shooting because I haven’t been the best shooter in the past,” she said. “I tend to drop my elbow a lot. I don’t have very good technique.”
MARQUEE MATCHES
The 24-team Falcon Tournament begins Jan. 5 at Santa Ana Valley, Tustin and Kennedy. Marina is the defending champion. …
A few of the teams playing this week face critical league matches the week of Jan. 5. Defending Sunset League champion Los Alamitos (9-1) – which plays two nonleague games this week – takes on host Newport Harbor on Jan. 7 at 5 p.m. Edison tangles with Huntington Beach (10-5) at 7:10 p.m. to close out the opening night of the Sunset League at Newport Harbor.
All league matches will be critical because no at-large berths are expected for the playoffs.
