Girls water polo: CdM reigns supreme, 8-7

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - For the second consecutive Friday, Corona del Mar

High’s girls water polo team celebrated a nonleague victory like it was a

CIF Southern Section championship.

Maybe first-year CdM Coach Aaron Chaney’s squad is simply rehearsing

for later this season.

For the second straight Friday, Corona del Mar defeated a program for

the first time in school history (girls water polo began in 1998 as an

officially sanctioned section sport).

But this time everything hit closer to home as the Sea Kings upset

Back Bay rival Newport Harbor, 8-7, in a thrilling finish in the Sailors’

pool.

“It’s huge for our program,” said Chaney, whose team (5-0) scored four

goals in the fourth quarter to rally for the win, CdM’s second straight

over a team ranked by The Times in the Southern California region top-10

poll.

CdM, which defeated Long Beach Wilson, 10-8, for the first time in

school annals Dec. 14 at Belmont Plaza, trailed 3-0 in the first quarter

and never led in the riveting contest until junior Daniela DiGiacomo’s

goal on a Newport turnover in the fourth quarter with 4:55 left, giving

the Sea Kings a 7-6 lead.

After Newport tied it, 7-7, CdM sophomore Vivian Liao scored an

extra-player goal on a second opportunity with 2:05 left to give the Sea

Kings their margin of victory.

“They had more incentive. They’d never beaten us,” said Newport Harbor

Coach Bill Barnett, whose team (4-1) is ranked fifth in Southern

California. “There are a lot of times when we’ve beaten them, and not

just in this (CIF) series, but in the summer. It’s been at least 12

times.”

The sixth-ranked Sea Kings outscored the hosts, 4-1, in the final

period, triggered by junior Christina Hewko’s goal on a half-tank shot

after winning the quarter’s sprint.

“That wasn’t a planned thing,” Chaney said. “Hewko won the ball,

realized the goalkeeper wasn’t paying attention and shot the ball. She

can really create things on her own. We got lucky on some situations.”

Hewko’s inspiring goal cut her team’s deficit to 6-5, then junior

Brittany Bowlus scored from six meters with 6:09 left to tie the game on

a shot that edged the fingertips of outstretched Newport goalie Leah

Grocki.

CdM took its first lead, 7-6, when DiGiacomo intercepted a Newport

pass intended for Grocki. DiGiacomo, who led CdM with three goals, scored

easily from two meters after the ball landed in front of her as everyone

was swimming the other direction.

“We simply gave them two goals,” Barnett said. “We gave them two

opportunities and they took advantage of it. You can’t do that against

good teams. And our passing was atrocious, that’s the bottom line.”

Newport Harbor, led by UCLA-bound senior Katherine Belden (two goals)

and junior Jenna Murphy (two), tied the game, 7-7, on junior Paige

Lansing’s goal from seven meters with 3:19 remaining, seconds after an

ejected CdM player was waved back into play.

Hewko deflected Murphy’s shot on goal during the six-on-five series,

but the Sailors retrieved the ball and Lansing fired away just before the

Sea Kings could return to full strength.

After Liao’s goal put CdM ahead, 8-7, the Sea Kings stopped two

Newport opportunities, including a save by CdM senior goalie Jessica

Wells with 1:33 left on the clock.

CdM missed on two shots on a power play, giving the Tars one more

chance. But, in the closing seconds, DiGiacomo, Liao and Hewko teamed to

stop Newport’s Anne Wight at two meters, forcing a turnover with 0:05

left.

“We were lucky on a couple of goals,” said Chaney, who replaced

Stanford-bound John Vargas as CdM’s coach this season. “I came from a

program in Hawaii, where I was at for 19 years, and we had a rivalry just

like this one. But this is my first (Back Bay showdown). I was maybe not

as nervous as the kids. I was like a freshman, when you don’t have

anything to compare it to, and so you’re not nervous.”

Newport Harbor opened the game with three of its four goals coming

from long range on efforts to beat the 35-second shot clock. When Amber

Braly scored a counterattack goal with 3:05 left in the first quarter,

the hosts led, 3-0.

DiGiacomo got CdM on the scoreboard with 1:54 to play in the opening

period, then Newport’s Murphy scored a minute later from 10 meters as the shot clock was winding down, giving the hosts a 4-1 edge.

Bowlus scored on a backhand shot from two meters with 0:29 left to cut

Newport’s lead to 4-2.

CdM’s defense shut out Newport in the second quarter and DiGiacomo

scored on a rebound with 0:36 left in the first half as the Sea Kings

trailed, 4-3, at the break.

Wight and Belden scored for Newport in the third quarter, and,

sandwiched between them, CdM’s Alexa Miller scored on a lob into the

upper-right corner of the cage with 2:55 on the clock to cut Harbor’s

lead to 5-4.

In the frosh-soph game, Newport Harbor defeated CdM, 1-0, as Sarah

Mutt scored the game’s only goal with 1:09 left in the third quarter.

NONLEAGUE

Corona del Mar 8, Newport Harbor 7

Corona del Mar 2 1 1 4 - 8

Newport Harbor 4 0 2 1 - 7

CdM - DiGiacomo 3, Bowlus 2, Hewko 1, Liao 1, Miller 1. Saves - Wells 3.

Newport - Belden 2, Murphy 2, Wight 1, Braly 1, Lansing 1. Saves -

Grocki 3, Ball 1.