WINNING TEAM: The Corona del Mar girls water polo team claimed its second Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions title in three seasons this past weekend. DAN ALBANO, OCVARSITY.COM |
Foothill fell little short in Santa Barbara TOC
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The Knights, usually a top-three finisher, had tough time in the semifinals.
For the first time at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions, Foothill’s girls water polo team didn’t finish in the top three.
The five-time champions fell in the third-place match to host Dos Pueblos, 7-5, on Saturday.
Foothill lost in the semifinals to Newport Harbor, 6-5.
The Knights (11-4) certainly had their chances against the Sailors. On some of their best scoring chances, they had shots hit the bar or they struggled on the power play.
Newport Harbor took a 6-1 lead into the fourth period, but the Knights scored four goals in the final three minutes.
Emily Klug drew six exclusions in the match and Kari Krumpholz added three others and earned a penalty. Foothill, however, finished with only two power-play goals.
Newport Harbor goalie Morgan Vickers contributed to the Knights’ struggles, making three saves against the power play.
ALL-TOURNAMENT
All-tournament honors from Santa Barbara: MVP Kate Baldoni (Corona del Mar, GK); Heather Van Hiel (Corona del Mar); Vickers; Mimi Bury (Newport Harbor); Sami Hill (Dos Pueblos, GK); Kiley Neushul (Dos Pueblos); Klug; Kendall Wootten (Long Beach Wilson); Kaylee Miller (Los Alamitos); Natasha Schulman (Laguna Beach).
DEFENSIVE STALWARTS
Corona del Mar coach Aaron Chaney praised the defense of Van Hiel and Elise Molnar, two juniors. Molnar is Corona del Mar’s primary 2-meter defender while Van Hiel is strong on the perimeter.
In the Sea Kings’ 4-1 victory against Dos Pueblos in the semifinals, Chaney put Van Hiel on Neushul.
“Heather really did a good job with on her one-on-one,” Chaney said. “We helped out on her (Neushul) when Heather wasn’t on her. … Heather matches up really well with her because she’s small like Kiley, quick and really, really well-balanced in the water.”
YOU MAKE THE CALL
With about two minutes left in the first semifinal, Neushul received a game exclusion for what an official later said was disrespect. Following her counterattack chance against Van Hiel and Baldoni, Neushul tossed her cap.
Dos Pueblos coach Danelle Little said Neushul threw her cap because it was around her neck — not out of disrespect. Check out a video of the play, and other tournament highlights, on OCVarsity.com.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
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