CdM shuts door on Tars

CORONA DEL MAR — The Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo team crashed into set at every opportunity Friday, taking away scoring chances from Back Bay rival Newport Harbor.

This time, it wasn’t a crash-and-burn situation for the Sea Kings.

CdM’s stifling defense held the Sailors scoreless into the first three quarters. The Sea Kings were on the way to a 6-3 victory in a rematch of last year’s CIF Southern Section Division I championship game, but the game at CdM wasn’t without its nervous moments.

Both teams remember it well, how Newport Harbor rallied from three goals down in the fourth quarter last February to win the CIF title in overtime. So when the Sailors scored two quick goals in the fourth quarter Friday, cutting a 4-0 CdM lead in half, there was an unmistakable feeling of déjà vu.

But high school water polo, like many sports, can work in cycles. This year, the Sea Kings (5-0) are the more experienced team. They had an answer, as senior Victoria Kennedy immediately scored from set and junior Victoria Kent added her second goal on a lob shot from the left.

“We did not want this to end up like CIF last year,” said CdM senior Leslee Kaczmarek, who had a goal and a steal. “That is not what we wanted. Everyone was yelling at each other [after Newport Harbor scored back-to-back goals]. We don’t want to be known as a team that comes out hard the first three quarters and then relaxes the last quarter, because that’s when it all goes down the drain.

“We just needed to keep pushing our defense harder.”

That’s what the Sea Kings, ranked No. 2 in the Division I preseason coaches’ poll, did for most of the game. No. 1-ranked Newport Harbor (1-2) does have a pair of talented two-meter players in senior Nicolina McCall, bound for USC, and junior Kaleigh Gilchrist. But neither was able to get much thanks to the CdM crash, which was different than the Sailors’ defensive strategy of constantly pressing.

“They crashed hard a lot,” Gilchrist said. “I don’t think our two-meter girls were ready to do something with the ball. It took us a while to figure out that they were crashing. In the fourth quarter, I think we caught on, but it was a little too late.”