Newport Harbor starts strong, but Dos Pueblos wins title

IRVINE - For the first half, Newport Harbor's girls water polo team dominated Dos Pueblos of Goleta, opening a five-goal lead with less than a minute left.

But in the second half of Saturday night's CIF Division 1 final, Dos Pueblos returned the favor, and then some.

The Chargers pitched a shutout in the final two periods to rally for an 8-7 victory and complete their perfect season at 31-0.

Freshman Jamie Neushul scored the winning goal with 1:47 left in the fourth before a wet but fully entertained crowd at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center.

Positioned in front of a post on a power play, Neushul scored on a well-placed cross pass from her famous sister, national teamer Kiley Neushul. Dos Pueblos took the lead for the first time, 8-7.

The Chargers' defense – which was the story of the second half – helped the victory. Kaleigh Gilchrist drew an ejection with 1:32 left but her quick shot coming out of a timeout was blocked by goalie Sami Hill.

Then with 32 seconds left, Hill stopped Gilchrist again on an excellent perimeter attempt.

And with about 13 seconds left, defender Tiera Schroeder made a steal on an entry pass for Gilchrist that allowed Dos Pueblos to run out the clock.

The Chargers joined Foothill's 2003 squad as the only undefeated Division 1 champion. They also claimed their second consecutive Division 1 title and third section crown overall.

Newport Harbor (25-6) led 7-2 with only seconds left in the first half but settled for a 7-3 lead.

"I thought we were satisfied where we were at half and didn't put out the necessary effort to keep going," Newport Harbor coach Bill Barnett said.

Gilchrist said the match reminded him of the 2008 Division 1 final won by Newport Harbor. In that match, the Sailors rallied from three-goal deficit to win in overtime.

"(We) just got a little too comfortable, a little too confident," she said.

Dos Pueblos' big second-half adjustment came on defense. Coach Danelle Little's team moved to a hard press. The Chargers had dropped some extra help at 2 meters in the first half. Dos Pueblos also assigned Kiley Neushul to mark Gilchrist. Neushul set the tone early with two quick steals.

"We didn't react to their press very well at all," Barnett said. "Against a press, you really have to work hard. You have to counter hard, and then you've got to help the ball hard. And you've got have movement. We didn't have that."

Newport Harbor's Kailyn Obenauer made Dos Pueblos pay for its sagging defense in the first period. The junior moved in before scoring from the perimeter to give the Sailors a 3-1 lead with 2:40 left.

Newport Harbor's counterattack was its biggest weapon in the first half. Kate Klippert, Colleen McCall and Gilchrist each scored on counterattacks.

The Sailors scored their final goal with 57 seconds left in the second period. Sophomore Madison McLaren tossed in a cross-cage lob shot on a power-play to give the Sailors a 7-2 lead. But with eight seconds left in the first half, Kiley Neushul scored her own power-play goal to start the comeback.

Dos Pueblos would end the game on a 6-0 run.

"The whole game, we were freaking out, 'We're down. We're down. We're down,' " Kiley Neushul said. "But everyone kept their head and we came out hard in the second half and put it away."

So what did Little tell her team at halftime?

"I told them that this is what we've been working for all year long," she said. "We could either roll over and end everything right now or we come back have the biggest comeback in history. ... This was just going to be the biggest challenge we've ever faced and we went for it."

In a way, Dos Pueblos beat Newport Harbor at is own game: the hard press.

"Newport ran an amazing press in the first half and we kind of took off what they were doing," Kiley Neushul said. "Tiera Schroeder ... awesome job guarding set."

U.S. national team Adam Krikorian watched the game and left impressed with Kiley Neushul. Krikorian thought Kiley Neushul's second half might have been the best half of water polo he has seen a high school girl ever play.

Kiley Neushul, meanwhile, had big praise for little sis.

Jamie Neushul also scored the tying goal, putting away a perimeter strike from about 7 meters with 4:01 left to knot the score, 7-7.

"She put it away twice at the end of that game," Kiley Neushul said. "Very, very proud of her. Everyone is. She played awesome."

Said Little of Jamie, "Doesn't surprise me at all. She definitely has the heart of a true champion."