Sea Kings stumble late, lose

Chris Yemma

In a clash of highly-ranked girls water polo teams, it was Santa

Margarita High that got the upper hand, defeating host Corona del

Mar, 8-6, in the quarterfinals of the Holiday Cup Wednesday at Corona

del Mar High.

The Eagles (6-1), ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division I,

controlled the fourth quarter on both the defensive and offensive

ends to overtake CdM (5-4) and advance to the semifinals today at

Newport Harbor High.

With the loss, the Sea Kings were relegated to the consolation

bracket, playing their first game today at 8:30 a.m. against Poway at

Newport. CdM is assured of eighth place in the tournament, but could

take fifth by winning twice today.

For Sea Kings, ranked No. 1 in Division II, it was a downer of a

day that started off strong. CdM pummeled Sunny Hills, 16-4, in the

first round of the tournament to advance to the quarterfinals. But

the Eagles proved to be a peskier opponent that nagged, scratched,

clawed and just wouldn’t go away, eventually overtaking CdM in the

do-or-die quarter.

“We had some good looks in the cage and we had some good

opportunities to score the ball,” Sea Kings’ Coach Aaron Chaney said.

“We just didn’t shoot well. I don’t know if it really was so much

[Santa Margarita’s defense].”

CdM entered the fourth quarter with a 6-4 lead after scores from

Jordan Anae and Cari Levine in a 46-second span, providing the Sea

Kings with the biggest lead either team had seen up to that stage.

But as fast as CdM went up by two goals, Santa Margarita responded

with a rapid force of its own. Just 11 seconds into in the fourth

quarter, the Eagles’ Darby Anderson connected with Alex Mclain for a

quick score. Two minutes later, Santa Margarita’s Brooke Figge tied

it on an unassisted shot. Forty seconds later, a penalty shot was

given to the Eagles and Figge nailed that for a 7-6 lead.

And with just nine seconds remaining in the game, Anderson gave

the Eagles more breathing room with the game’s final goal and Santa

Margarita held on from there.

“It’s early in the year,” Chaney said. “But it’s tough to lose a

game like that where you’re up a couple, then you’re down a few and

you’re back up again.”

With 38 seconds remaining, CdM had one last legitimate chance to

tie it at seven and possibly force overtime, but Eagles’ goalie

Stephanie Peckhera stole the ball just before a Sea King could get a

point-blank shot off.

“We played with all our heart,” said junior Camille Hewko, who led

CdM with three goals. “To not get this win, it just broke us. We just

needed to put our shots away, and when we were ahead we needed better

defense.”

The fourth-quarter statistics confirm Hewko’s statement. Santa

Margarita tallied half of its total goals in the fourth period while

holding CdM scoreless. The Eagles closed the game the way the Sea

Kings finished the third quarter -- with a bang.

Both teams fired nearly the same amount of shots -- CdM attempted

25 to Santa Margarita’s 24. And goalkeeper saves were nearly even --

15 for CdM senior Brittany Fullen and 13 for Santa Margarita’s

Stephanie Peckhera.

“Obviously there was something we didn’t do right,” Hewko said.

“We came out with so much intensity and I don’t know what happened.

Maybe we lacked in the fourth.”

Holiday Cup

Santa Margarita 8,

Corona del Mar 6

Quarterfinal

Score by Quarters

*--*

Santa Marg. 1 3 0 4 -- 8

Corona del Mar 2 1 3 0 -- 6

*--*

SM -- D. Anderson 3, Figge 4, Mclain 1. Saves -- Peckhera 13.

CdM -- Hewko 3, Indvik 1, Anae 1, Levine 1. Saves -- Fullen 15.