Newport Harbor senior Cleo Harrington remembers the looks she and fellow goalie Carlee Kapana received as they warmed up together for a water polo match in early January.
Two goalies from a rival team were warming up on opposite ends of the pool and peeked in seeming disbelief at Harrington and Kapana.
“They were looking at us like we’re crazy (to be warming up together),” Harrington said.
Yes, Orange County’s top two goalies might split time during games, but their bond has proved to be genuinely special.
Harrington and Kapana have worked side-by-side in practices and matches to help Newport Harbor reach a third consecutive CIF-SS Division 1 final.
“We love sharing cage time,” Kapana said. “It’s really fun.”
If Newport Harbor coach Bill Barnett keeps his pattern, Harrington will start in goal today when the Sailors (23-7) face top-seeded Laguna Beach (29-1) at 1 p.m. at Woollett Aquatics Center.
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The 5-foot-10 keeper, who is bound for Harvard, will then give way to Kapana, a 5-10 junior who enters games at the beginning of the third period.
At halftime, Harrington warms up Kapana by firing shots on cage.
“We get along great,” Harrington said. “To share this experience with her is awesome.”
While most top teams traditionally rely on one goalie, Barnett began splitting time between Harrington and Kapana during the summer.
Harrington was coming off a first-team All-County season and she had helped Newport Harbor capture the Division 1 title as a sophomore.
But the Sailors’ roster also featured Kapana, a member of the U.S. youth team.
Barnett said he didn’t talk to the girls about splitting time. He just started making the rotations.
“They accepted it,” he said. “We did it a lot during the summer. That’s when we did our experimentation and it worked out.”
Harrington said she trusted Barnett’s decision. She also thought it was fair for Kapana to get the chance to show her skills as a junior, an important year for college recruiting.
And by putting her team ahead of herself, Harrington set an example of unselfishness for her teammates.
Kapana, meanwhile, played last season on the junior varsity despite an impressive resume.
Santa Barbara coach Mark Walsh said both goalies have shown “great character” in the past seasons in accepting their roles.
“We’re both pretty humble,” Harrington said. “I have no complaints.”
Barnett’s decision continues to pay off for Newport Harbor. The Sailors rallied late in the season to make a CIF push while Harrington and Kapana shared top goalie honors at the Irvine Southern California Championships.
Kapana sealed a victory in the Division I semifinals against Santa Barbara with a last-second save on a redirect.
“Newport has two of the best goalies in high school,” Mater Dei coach Chris Segesman said. “Their goalies are lights out.”
Just as importantly, Harrington and Kapana also are good teammates.
BARNETT COUNTDOWN
Barnett, 71, said he will retire after the 2014-15 season.
He said the main reason he will coach one more season is that his current junior class features four players who had sisters go through the program.
“I actually said when this group of girls was freshmen … I was going to take them to the end,” said Barnett, who has coached 15 Newport Harbor teams to CIF titles (10 boys). “I’m tired. Give it to somebody with younger blood.”
Barnett said he and his wife are considering trying out a move to Montana, where his daughter lives.
HOPING THIRD TIME IS A CHARM
Mater Dei (26-6) will be seeking its first CIF girls title when it takes on Santa Margarita (23-6) in the Division 2 final today at 4 p.m.
The Monarchs lost to Santa Margarita, 12-11, in overtime last season in the Division 2 final. In 2012, Mater Dei fell to Santiago of Corona, 9-8, in the Division 2 final.
“Our goal is definitely to win the CIF championship and that’s been the case the last two years,” Mater Dei senior Brianna Daboub said. “Hopefully, this (season) will be different.”
Daboub said team unity has been a strength for the Monarchs this season.
“I think we have a lot more chemistry this year,” she said. “We want to play for each other. We want to fight for each other.”
OLYMPIAN CONNECTION
Troy’s girls will brush with a famous water polo name when they take on La Serna in the Division 4 final. The Lancers feature sophomore Isabella Villa, the niece of legendary U.S. Olympian Brenda Villa.
Brenda Villa played with the boys at Bell Gardens and went on to capture four Olympic medals with the U.S. women: gold, two silver and a bronze.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
