IRVINE — Coach Bill Barnett waited and waited during three breaks. The third one is the one he expected to take in the CIF Southern Section Division I finale.
As for the score at halftime, most were in shock. Barnett wasn’t one of them. The Newport Harbor High girls’ water polo team enjoyed a four-goal lead over undefeated Dos Pueblos of Goleta.
Minutes earlier, the power went out on the scoreboard for the second time in the second quarter. Next was a torrential downpour.
The pool at Irvine High looked like a giant Jacuzzi.
Barnett liked what he saw. He looked more than ready for his traditional dip in the pool after the section championship game. He has taken it four out of the previous five times on this stage.
“I thought I was going for a swim,” Barnett said.
The closest Barnett got to getting soaked was because of Saturday’s rain. The showers stopped, but the Sailors were still unable to weather the storm.
Top-seeded Dos Pueblos stormed back in the second half. The Chargers scored five goals in the final 14 minutes and shut down the second-seeded Sailors to pull off an impressive 8-7 comeback victory.
On Coach Danelle Little’s birthday, Dos Pueblos defended its crown. She turned 32 as her Chargers turned 31-0. What a way to close out a perfect season.
The Sailors (25-6) almost ruined it.
Barnett felt the Sailors, who had a 7-3 lead at halftime, failed to finish the job. The loss stung the legendary coach, who suffered only his second section title loss with the girls.
“I think we were riding our laurels from the first half,” said Barnett, adding the loss was harder to deal with than the one to Foothill in 2005.
“I thought we had a chance to upset them, and to get out [by] that much of a lead and then kind of choke, it really leaves a bad feeling.”
The feeling is due to Kaleigh Gilchrist saying the Sailors “got too comfortable” after the first 14 minutes. Everything appeared to go their way.
The defense pressed the Chargers, limiting standout Kiley Neushul to one goal in the first half. Offensively, Gilchrist scored twice in the first half. Madison McLaren found the back of the net twice with lobs in the second quarter in which Colleen McCall also recorded a goal.
Five players finished with at least one goal for Newport Harbor before halftime.
Dos Pueblos decided to give the Sailors a dose of their own medicine down the stretch.
