Edison defeated Newport Harbor for the first time in its school history and placed third at the Irvine Southern California Championships with an 8-5 upset at Irvine High.
The only time Coach Bill Barnett cracked a smile was at the end of the day, when he congratulated Edison Coach Diggy Riley, a former player of his at Newport Harbor. The 1981 graduate said Barnett handled the loss well.
“If you’re going to lose to one guy, it’s all right losing to you, dude,’ ” Riley said Barnett told him after sophomore Alys Williams scored four goals and helped Edison stun the No. 2-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll.
Barnett wasn’t OK after the exchange with Riley. The longtime coach had legit reasons to worry about his Sailors (20-5).
Newport Harbor has two matches next week before the playoffs start. Seeing the Sailors go 0-2 in one day after they entered it with just three losses, two to defending section champion Dos Pueblos of Goleta, isn’t how Barnett wants his team playing down the stretch.
“If they can’t rally to beat a team that they beat by six goals during the regular season, they don’t deserve to do well in [the CIF playoffs], or anywhere,” Barnett said.
Before playing No. 4-ranked Edison (19-6), Barnett knew the Sailors were in trouble. He said they lacked enthusiasm starting in the semifinals against Los Alamitos.
The Griffins took advantage. They jumped ahead, 5-2, at halftime and went on to record a 9-2 victory to advance to the final against Dos Pueblos. Beating a strong team like No. 3 Los Alamitos three times in a season is always a challenge.
Barnett said he felt things outside of the pool affected the Sailors, whose loss to Los Alamitos was their worst of the season.
