CdM rallies for title

But Van Hiel provided the game’s final goal, on a lob from the left with 1:46 left in the third quarter. Van Hiel also played solid defense on Neushul all game, making sure she wouldn’t score five goals like in the teams’ first meeting of the season. The Chargers were left to settle for third place after beating Foothill, 7-5.

“I thought we played really good defense on her,” Chaney said. “I told the girls that we couldn’t guard her one on one. She’s arguably the best high school player [in CIF]. Plus, I thought Heather did a really good job guarding her when it was one on one. [Neushul] has great balance in the water, but so does Heather.”

The Sailors, meanwhile, came out extremely fired up in the second half against Foothill after holding a tenuous 2-1 halftime advantage. Bury drew a Foothill exclusion early in the third quarter, then she scored the power-play goal on Robinson’s pass for a 3-1 lead.

McCall then had an impressive lob goal falling away from set, giving the Sailors a 4-1 lead. Less than a minute later, Kaleigh Gilchrist scored from seven meters, then Erin Reid scored a five-meter penalty shot late in the quarter for a 6-1 lead, that seemed insurmountable.

But the Knights, the defending TOC and CIF Southern Section Division I champs, wouldn’t go away so easily. Foothill scored four consecutive goals in the fourth quarter, the last on a six-on-five goal from Brittany Zwirner with 16 seconds left. But the Sailors were able to run the clock out and survive.

“I think we started using the clock too much,” Robinson said. “We didn’t pass it into set when we could have had really nice shots. I think we still had some opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on.”

It turned out to be the same way the Sailors felt after the championship loss to CdM.

“We’re not very good at sustaining momentum but slowing down,” McCall said. “When we slow down, we just kind of die ... We get ahead and then we don’t know what to do.”

The Sea Kings knew what to do, celebrating wildly after beating their Back Bay rivals.

“I’m not surprised, I’m just very pleased,” Van Hiel said. “We all know that we can play that good defense, and we really showed it. To shut Newport out for a whole half and two overtime periods is a really great accomplishment.”

Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions

Championship

Corona del Mar 6,

Newport Harbor 5 (OT)

SCORE BY PERIODS

NH – Simons 1, Bury 1, Morrison 1, McCall 1, Robinson 1. Saves – Vickers 6.

CdM – Kennedy 3, Van Hiel 1, Peotter 1, Molnar 1. Saves – Baldoni 9.

Semifinal

Corona del Mar 4, Dos Pueblos 1

SCORE BY QUARTERS

CdM – Berry 1, Van Hiel 1, Kennedy 1, Peotter 1. Saves – Baldoni 13.

DP – Neushul 1. Saves – S. Hill 13.

Semifinal

Newport Harbor 6, Foothill 5

SCORE BY QUARTERS

F – Zwirner 3, Bustard 1, Klug 1. Saves – Avetoom 3.

NH – Reid 2, Gilchrist 2, Bury 1, McCall 1. Saves – Vickers 5.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.