SANTA BARBARA Corona del Mar’s girls water polo team has experienced how thin the margin sometimes is between winning and losing.
The Sea Kings dropped their last two games at the recent Holiday Cup in overtime to place fourth.
But No. 4 Corona del Mar committed to working on the finer points of the game afterward and received an ample reward Friday night at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.
The Sea Kings’ shot blocking in the field against the power-play helped secure a 10-7 victory against No. 5 Orange Lutheran in a quarterfinal at Santa Barbara.
“We’re so close to being top-two,” Corona del Mar senior Eliza Britt said. “We’ve definitely been working on the little things (such as shot blocking).”
Sophomore defender Jaleh Moaddeli made what Corona del Mar coach Ross Sinclair called the biggest play of the game by blocking an Orange Lutheran shot with a 6-on-4 advantage with 1:35 left in the third period, protecting a 7-5 lead.
Corona del Mar (9-3) capitalized on its ensuing possession as U.S. national teamer Maddie Musselman drew an ordinary foul inside 5 meters at center and fed Kaybree Albright on the short wing for a goal that sealed a two-goal swing.
“The game could (have gone) either way right there,” Sinclair said of Moaddeli’s block. “That sequence of the shot block and going in and scoring, that’s a big turnaround.”
Corona del Mar then made the sequence stick by scoring twice in the final 40 seconds of the third. Musselman drew a penalty shot and scored and Moaddeli scored at the buzzer with a cross-cage lob from just inside mid-pool.
The Sea Kings went on to advance to today’s semifinal against defending champion and top-ranked Laguna Beach at Dos Pueblos High at 11:10 a.m.
“This is where we wanted to prove that we’re still in,” said Musselman, who had a team-high three goals, two assists and won four sprints.
Musselman, known for her field blocking ability, also blocked a power-play shot in the second period with about two minutes left and scored from center about 30 seconds later for a 6-4 lead.
“Everyone is learning to love the shot block,” she said. “I think that is going to help our team a lot.”
Orange Lutheran (15-3) finished 4 for 8 on the power-play; Corona del Mar 4 for 6. Emma Skelly paced Orange Lutheran with three goals.
In other quarterfinals:
No. 1 Laguna Beach 14, San Marcos 4: Makenzie Fischer scored five goals and Aria Fischer added four to help the Breakers (14-0) earn their 35th consecutive victory.
No. 2 Foothill 12, Dos Pueblos 4: Kenzi Snyder made six of her 10 saves against the power play and blocked a penalty shot to lead the visiting Knights (13-2) into today’s 12:15 p.m. semifinal against Newport Harbor.
No. 3 Newport Harbor 10, San Clemente 2: Carlee Kapana made 12 saves and lefty Isabel Leveque scored a season-high three goals to lead the Sailors (11-3) at Dos Pueblos.
O.C. Top 10 tracker
Friday at the SB TOC
No. 6 Los Al lost to Dos Pueblos 9-8; def. Murrieta Valley, 10-3
No. 9 El Toro def. No. 7 Santa Margarita, 5-3
No. 10 San Clemente def. No. 8 Mater Dei, 11-7; Mater Dei lost to Agoura, 15-5
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
