Five reasons to watch the CIF-SS Division 1 girls water polo final between Foothill and Orange Lutheran on Saturday night at 5:30 at Woollett:
Two highly-motivated teams: You won’t find two more motivated squads at Woollett on Saturday. These two don’t seem desperate for a title but will play with desperation because they want the championship so badly. Six-time Div. 1 champion Foothill is seeking its first title since 2007 while Orange Lutheran is aiming for a crown in its first finals appearance. Foothill’s girls also saw their boys team win a back-to-back CIF title in the fall.
Related: Saturday’s CIF-SS schedule at Woollett
Feats of athleticism: Did you catch Brooke Maxson’s back-handed, redirect attempt from about 5 meters on an early counterattack Wednesday night? The Foothill senior’s shot just missed against Laguna Beach but was one of the most athletic displays of the season. If you like speed, watch Maxson and Mollie Simmons of Orange Lutheran race for the sprints. Outside shooting? Watch Foothill’s Val Ayala and her quick release and the Lancers’ Emma Skelly.
Trilogies work: The teams have split two entertaining affairs, including perhaps the match of the season so far. In the semifinals of the Holiday Cup, Foothill built an early lead and held on for a 9-8 victory. The Lancers won the final of the Santa Barbara TOC, posting an 8-7 double sudden-death overtime victory on a goal by Skelly. That was match-of-the-year caliber.
Clash of styles: Foothill plays a traditional brand of water polo that values the 2-meter attack. With rising center Noelle Wijnbelt ready to set, that’s a sound strategy. But the Knights also are a reflection of their veteran coach Jim Brumm, whose teams play some pretty water polo. Orange Lutheran and Coach Steve Carrera are more new-school with their focus on the press, counterattack and playing the matchups on offense. The Lancers, of course, really are new school as a four-year program. And while Carrera is the younger of the coaches, he is a veteran of the CIF finals. His ex-Northwood boys fell in the Division 1 final 10 years ago to El Toro.
Private vs. Public: This theme simmered more during the boys seasons of the summer and fall, partially because of the emergence of the Lancers to a mix with Mater Dei, Harvard-Westlake and Loyola. The theme has been quiet in the girls season but the dynamic might re-emerge. With a victory, Orange Lutheran would become the first private school to capture the Division 1 girls crown.
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