NEWPORT BEACH Corona del Mar’s “Hype Squad” made its presence known Saturday night at the “Battle of the Bay” boys water polo match against visiting Newport Harbor.
So did Corona del Mar’s speedy counterattack and inner resolve.
Second-ranked Corona del Mar leaned on both factors to answer a third-period surge by the No. 8 Sailors to claim a 9-7 victory in front of a large and spirited crowd, which included the Sea Kings’ “Hype Squad” student cheering section.
“It’s just the student section when they get rowdy and it’s just a whole other level,” explained Corona del Mar senior Ashton Jajonie, who scored three of his match-high four goals in the decisive third. “I got to give credit to them. They brought it today. It was intense.”
But so did Corona del Mar’s counterattack, which helped navigate the Sea Kings’ first Battle of the Bay victory since Chase Watson’s epic six-goal outburst in 2010.
The Sea Kings scored the first three goals Saturday and led, 4-1, late in the first half. Newport Harbor grabbed the momentum and the lead early in the third by scoring the first three goals of the second half to take its first lead, 5-4.
But Corona del Mar responded with a five-goal blitz in the thrid that turned the course of the game for good.
Garrett Spruth put away a perimeter strike to tie the score, 5-5, with 3:57 left. Seconds later, Jajonie made a steal at mid-pool and scored the go-ahead goal on the counterattack. The Sea Kings’ counterattack then drew an exclusion, leading to a power-play strike by Jajonie with 2:18 left in the third. But Corona del Mar wasn’t done.
Patrick Ong, playing with two fouls, scored on a counterattack started by a steal by Spruth. A steal and drawn ejection by Ong led to another power-play strike by Jajonie, who put away a pass by Jack Trush to cap the run with 1:14 left.
Corona del Mar led, 9-5, and as it turned out, the 5-0 surge was the knockout punch.
“We wanted to win that game more than anything,” said Spruth, who finished with three goals. “We had our hearts and souls into that game and we really pulled ourselves together and played as a team, and when we can do that, we’re extremely dangerous.”
Newport Harbor interm coach Marco Palazzo addressed Corona del Mar’s counterattack and said he didn’t believe the Sea Kings were necessarily faster than the Sailors. They anticipated better, he said.
“They were so ready on the turnover transition,” he said. “They swam faster than us. They shot better than us, so congratulations to CdM.”
Corona del Mar coach Barry O’Dea said the counterattack was a key part of his team’s strategy.
“We felt like we could get out on some counterattacks,” he said. “Listen, we were CIF runner-ups two years in a row in Division 1 swimming (2012-13). … We’re pretty fast.”
Both teams played well on defense, especially against the power-play. Trush field-blocked two power-play chances in the fourth, contributing to the Sailors finishing 3 for 9 with the extra attacker.
Newport Harbor goalie Nick Wood made consecutive saves against the power-play in the second period and help hold Corona del Mar to a 3 for 12 effort with the extra attacker. Wood finished with 14 saves, including a breakaway tip against Jajonie in the fourth, while Jack Mooers added two field blocks in the fourth.
The Sailors missed on their first nine shots before Mooers scored on the power-play with 2:44 left in the first half. Clay Davison scored on consecutive perimeter strikes to open the third – shooting high and following with a skip shot – and Luke Bradbury scored on a redirect from Ryan Braun to give the Sailors a 5-4 with 5:04 left.
But that’s when Corona del Mar hit its jets and the Hype Squad might have roared the loudest.
“I looked at the stands and all my classes (for Corona del Mar) were here and they brought all their friends,” O’Dea said. “I think our guys fed off that.”
Earlier on Saturday night, Corona del Mar’s frosh-soph team posted a 9-4 victory while the its junior varsity collected an 11-9 victory in overtime behind three goals in the extra frames by Tanner Roletter.
