Tough opener for Tars

NEWPORT BEACH — The countdown began for Newport Harbor High once the opposing goalie yelled out, “they are out of quarters.”

Thirty-five seconds remained in the girls’ water polo match featuring last year’s CIF Southern Section Division I champ and this year’s top-ranked program.

No time for the Sailors to do much in their season opener, and Foothill goalie Amber Oland made sure they couldn’t muster much the entire match.

Oland, bound for Stanford, stopped practically everything Newport Harbor threw at her Tuesday. She punched away two penalty shots and a handful of close-range shots, proving why the Knights are No. 1.

Foothill won 5-2 and it marked the first time since 2003 Newport Harbor dropped a home match to its rival. But Newport Harbor Coach Bill Barnett downplayed the significance.

“It was a big rivalry when we were in the same league,” said Barnett, whose team joined the Sunset League this year after winning the Sea View League, which Foothill still competes in. “The rivalry there is not the same.”

Players from both sides and also Foothill Coach Dave Mikesell beg to differ.

Why would Sailors’ driver Jessica Robinson say Newport Harbor “really wanted to beat” Foothill? The two schools are each other’s nemesis. They competed not only for league titles, but also section championships.

Mikesell still remembers how his teams finished behind Newport Harbor for the league title the last three years. The two schools played for section titles in 2004 and 2005, with the Sailors taking the first and the Knights the second.

Mikesell’s won five section titles in his 11 years at Foothill and Barnett three in his 11 years at Newport Harbor. The two could find themselves battling for another section crown.

“We were just trying to feel each other out,” Mikesell said.

Oland found out quickly how eager the fourth-ranked Sailors wanted to introduce themselves. They fired shots from all over, finishing with 18, but most were closer to hitting the wall and scoreboard than the back of the net.

After seeing USC-bound driver Jessica Kutcher score the first of her thee goals to give Foothill a 1-0 lead with 3 minutes, 11 seconds left in the first period, Newport Harbor responded late in the period. The Sailors attacked, forcing the Knights to commit a penalty.

But even from five meters out, Jillian Chiapuzio couldn’t beat Oland. The senior kept batting everything away and finished with nine saves.

The only time the Sailors were successful against Oland in the first three periods was in the second. Marisa Cottam’s shot hit the post, and the rebound went to Newport Harbor. Allyssa Peterson scored, cutting Foothill’s advantage to 2-1.

Newport Harbor almost scored again with less than a minute before intermission. Three great consecutive scoring chances, until Oland stood in the way. Even with two Foothill players out during a power play the Sailors couldn’t score.

“I thought we played well. They had a good energy level, and they had a great performance by their goalie,” said Barnett, whose team couldn’t take full advantage of seven Foothill ejections.

“We got the shots.”

But the goals belonged to Foothill (2-0).

Three different players scored the Knights last three goals. The final two showed their strength over the Sailors, with Emily Klugg and Kutcher powering their way through the defense.

“We didn’t know what to expect because we both lost a lot of our offense, “ said Kutcher, referring to Foothill losing Grace Reynolds [Cal] and Kelsey Holshouser [Stanford] to graduation and Newport Harbor losing Leah Robertson [Michigan] and Kally Lucas [USC] to graduation.

“We did a good job shutting them down, and [Oland] definitely carried our defense. Without her it would have been hard to stay up and positive.”

Once Oland announced to everyone that Newport Harbor ran out of quarters, Foothill’s players looked at the clock, knowing in just seconds they would be celebrating.

Nonleague

Foothill 5, Newport Harbor 2

Score by Quarters

Foothill

1

2

1

1

—

5

Newport 0

1

0

1

— 2

Foothill -- Kutcher 3, McClain 1, Klugg 1. Saves -- Oland 9.

Newport -- Peterson 1, Gilchrist 1. Saves -- Vickers 1.