IRVINE – A block off the face of its goalie. A short-lived protest. A challenge down to the final seconds from its rival.
Santa Margarita’s girls water polo team overcame plenty to defend its CIF-SS Division 2 title at a rain-soaked William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center on Saturday.
Santa Margarita goalie Nikki Doumas and Haley Wan made key defensive plays in the final two minutes and Sage Pfeiffer and Diana Carballo scored fourth-period goals as top-seeded Santa Margarita held off No. 2 Mater Dei, 5-4, in a showdown between Trinity League rivals.
The Eagles edged Mater Dei, 12-11, in overtime in last season’s Division 2 final.
They sealed their title defense when Mater Dei’s final power-play shot sailed over the goal with three seconds left.
Santa Margarita (24-6) also got a fifth field block from Wan with just under a minute remaining and three fourth-period saves from Doumas.
Pfeiffer and Kacey Avalos each with finished with two goals for Santa Margarita.
“Resilient,” Wan said of her team. “The unity on our team is just really what helps us. We all want to win for each other.”
Doumas’ block partially off her face with 3:44 left in the fourth preserved a 5-3 lead and sparked a controversy. Santa Margarita called timeout after the block but Mater Dei (26-7) argued that the Eagles didn’t have possession to call timeout.
Mater Dei coach Chris Segesman called for a penalty shot and protested the call, but after the officials met, Mater Dei was awarded possession.
The Eagles’ defense held on the ensuing possession.
“The final decision of the referees was that the ball was in the position of no possession,” said John Montrella, a member of the championship management committee.
“You’re not allowed to call timeout unless you have possession. The discussion resulted in the referees finally coming to the same conclusion that it was an illegal timeout (by Santa Margarita) and they awarded the ball to the other team (Mater Dei), which is the correct rule interpretation.”
And while the discussion delayed the game for several minutes, the break wasn’t all tension-filled. Santa Margarita’s student section sang Wan, who turned 18 on Saturday, happy birthday.
Mater Dei’s Brianna Daboub cut Santa Margarita’s lead to 5-4 on a direct shot with 2:37 left. But the Eagles’ defense held from there, especially against the Monarchs’ power-play. Mater Dei finished 2 for 10 with the extra attacker; Santa Margarita went 0 for 5.
“We knew that if we stood together, we could overcome any obstacle,” said Doumas, who finished with 12 saves. “It was definitely a game of endurance but I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Mater Dei’s defense shut out Wan but the Princeton-bound senior found other ways to contribute. She almost became a second goalie with her ability to field block in front of the cage.
“Teams can take away Haley Wan on offense but what they can’t do is score on her,” Santa Margarita coach Brian Weathersby said. “She puts herself in situations where she knows what angle to take (on defense) and she knows where certain people like to shoot the ball.”
Mater Dei finished as the Division 2 runner-up for the third consecutive season, all by one-goal decisions.
“Our girls played their hearts out. It was a good game,” Segesman said. “We just didn’t capitalize. Defensively, we were lights out. We did our job. Contained Haley and played great defense. Anna (Politiski) played well in the cage. We just didn’t put our shots away. That’s what it comes down to.”
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
