Corona del Mar makes a move

Corona del Mar's boys water polo team secured two breakthrough victories Saturday against Division 1 foes.

Corona del Mar knocked off Newport Harbor and Long Beach Wilson — ranked third and fourth in Division 1, respectively — en route to capturing the Memorial Cup at Bellarmine Prep of San Jose on Saturday night.

Jack Harryman skipped in a perimeter shot with about one minute left in the championship match to help the Sea Kings rally past Wilson, 11-10.

Corona del Mar (22-6) trailed, 8-3, at halftime but knotted the score, 10-10, with about 2:30 left on a strike by Danny Marshall.

In the semifinals, Corona del Mar handled Newport Harbor, 11-6.

The Sea Kings entered Saturday ranked sixth in Division 1 and a combined 0-5 against teams ranked above them, including two losses to the Bruins (18-6).

Now, with one week left in the regular season, Corona del Mar could move up.

"I think we go to No. 3," Corona del Mar coach Barry O'Dea said in a phone interview from San Jose. "We won the tournament and we're peaking."

Harryman and left-hander Jake Wyatt each finished with three goals against Long Beach Wilson. Goalie Patrick McKenzie added 10 saves.

"The guys never gave up," O'Dea said of the Wilson victory.

Harryman led seven players in scoring in the semifinals with three goals. O'Dea praised the 2-meter defense of Kyle Trush against Newport Harbor (19-5), which defeated the Sea Kings, 9-7, last Saturday.

"We took it," O'Dea said of the victory against the Sailors. "We played awesome."

At the Steve Pal Memorial Tournament:

Santa Margarita 11, No. 7 Dana Hills 10: Stephen Riggins led eight players in scoring with three goals and Ryan Melosini made a save with about four seconds left as the host Eagles (20-9) claimed the tournament title and improved to 11-1 in October.

Santa Margarita's October surge has coincided with the insertion of JSerra transfers Troy and Chandler Kaltenbach into matches. Chandler had two goals against Dana Hills (19-7) while Troy added one.

The Eagles also have improved their defense and counterattack this month.

“All the guys are feeling great and I hope we can bring that to the playoffs,” said Riggins, who also had a key field block against a power-play in the fourth. “We’ve been working a lot our swimming … and our defense.”

Melosini finished with 16 saves. “I definitely think he’s one of the best goalies in the county,” Santa Margarita coach Paden Mitchell said of the sophomore.

In quarterfinals, Santa Margarita edged shorthanded No. 6 Laguna Beach, 8-7. The Eagles beat Righetti of Santa Maria in the semifinals, 6-5.

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com