Corona del Mar plays its way into final (with video)
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Sea Kings score late to beat Foothill, 7-6; Newport Harbor also wins.
IRVINE Corona del Mar girls water polo coach Aaron Chaney was not about to be outdone by an underwater play.
So after Foothill ran the trick play in the final seconds in a bid for the lead, Chaney and Corona del Mar countered with one of their own.
Corona del Mar's play worked as Leslee Kaczmarek scored from about 7 meters out with 11 seconds left to lift the Sea Kings to a 7-6 victory in the CIF Division I semifinals Wednesday at William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center.
Second-seeded Corona del Mar (24-6) will face Back Bay rival and top-seeded Newport Harbor (28-3) for the title on Saturday night at 7 at Woollett.
The Sailors have won three of the teams' four matches.
Kaczmarek started the season on the junior varsity but emerged from below the surface to take biggest shot of Corona del Mar's season.
Coming out of a timeout with 20 seconds left, Corona del Mar positioned Kaczmarek in front of Foothill's goal but after five crossing drives at 2 meters, the junior dove below the traffic to the point.
She then took a pass from goalie Kate Baldoni and found the upper right corner for her second goal of the match.
Kaczmarek said the play is Corona del Mar's favorite but it turned out to be a counter to a similar underwater play run by Foothill coming out of a timeout with 43 seconds left.
Foothill (22-7), the defending Division I champion, ran the play for Kathryn Bustard but the pass was short and Corona del Mar forced a turnover.
In the other Division I semifinal:
Newport Harbor 5, Long Beach Wilson 3: Nina McCall scored twice in the fourth period, including one with 36 seconds left, to lift the Sailors.
Newport Harbor goalie Morgan Vickers blocked a penalty shot in the second period and the Bruins (23-7) missed a penalty shot with about 30 seconds left in the fourth.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
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