Corona del Mar stops Neushul but loses in final
Corona del Mar stops Neushul but loses in final
The Sea Kings hold the standout scoreless but Dos Pueblos escapes with 3-2 victory in the Division I title match.
IRVINE - Corona del Mar girls water polo coach Aaron Chaney didn't try to fake it when he met with his team after the Division I final.
Chaney hadn't prepared a speech for a loss, which is what happened to his top-seeded Sea Kings on Saturday night.
“I told them I didn't have a speech planned,” the coach said. “We do a lot of visualization stuff … and I was visualizing winning.”
No. 2 Dos Pueblos of Goleta had other ideas. Junior goalie Sami Hill made 17 saves and three players not named Kiley Neushul netted goals for the Chargers in their 3-2 victory at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center.
Corona del Mar (29-2) blanked standout sophomore Neushul but juniors Alex Hill and Amanda Redfern and sophomore Tiera Schroeder each scored. Dos Pueblos (28-3) featured only one senior starter in claiming its first Division I title.
Senior-heavy Corona del Mar ran two timeout plays in the final 52 seconds but came up empty. The Sea Kings lost to rival Newport Harbor in overtime in last season's final but Chaney said this loss hurt more.
“I said if I look disappointed, I'm not disappointed in you, I'm disappointed for you because you guys really deserved this,” he said.
Dos Pueblos ran a quick crash at 2 meters to take away Corona del Mar's inside attack. The Chargers also ran a drop at times. That left Corona del Mar to beat Sami Hill from the outside, which only happened once.
In the first period, Heather Van Hiel shot and scored from about 7 meters on a pass from the wing by Margot Money.
One of the biggest moments arrived late in the third. Van Hiel broke free on a counterattack and tossed a cross-cage lob that appeared to land on the goal line. But Hill quickly swiped the ball away with her left hand with about 2:18 left in the period.
“Oh, my, gosh,” Hill said of the play. “It was really close. … It was up to the (referee) at that point.”
On Dos Pueblos ensuing possession, Redfern blasted in a shot from about 7 meters and the Chargers opened a 3-1 lead with 1:50 left in the third. “It was momentum,” Hill said. “We just built on that.”
Elise Molnar scored a power-play goal with 3:09 left in the fourth period to cut Dos Pueblos' lead to 3-2. The teams will not meet at the next Masters in Orange County. Dos Pueblos is not participating because of financial and education reasons, Coach Danelle Little confirmed.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
