Sailors clamp down

NEWPORT BEACH — In blustering cold winds, gloves were the fashion accessory of choice during Wednesday night’s Sunset League showdown between the Newport Harbor and Los Alamitos girls’ water polo teams.

No gloves allowed in the pool, but the Sailors didn’t need them the way they were picking off Griffins passes.

Newport Harbor had 15 steals, building an early lead and hanging on for a 6-4 victory at Newport Harbor High in a battle of the last two Sunset League unbeaten squads.

The Sailors (16-2, 3-0 in league), the top-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll, still have league games against Marina on Jan. 30 and Edison on Feb. 6. But wins in those two games would now guarantee Newport Harbor its second straight Sunset League title.

By beating No. 5-ranked Los Alamitos (14-5, 2-1), Newport Harbor was also able to brush off a tough loss in its last game, a 6-5 overtime loss to Back Bay rival Corona del Mar in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions title game on Saturday.

“Coach [Bill Barnett] always says it’s how you come back from losing that really shows how good of a team you are,” said junior Nicolina McCall, who added to her team-high total of 34 goals with three against the Griffins.

Sophomore Kate Klippert said preparation was key for Wednesday’s win.

“We watched film, we got the plays, we practiced their defense and offense against each other,” Klippert said. “It really helped. Our coach really prepared us well for it. Just coming back from a loss like at Santa Barbara, having never won that tournament, it really motivated us to get it into gear.”

Klippert had a team-high four steals, but none was bigger than the one midway through the third quarter. She stepped into a passing lane, swam all the way down and scored on a cross-cage “pop shot,” where the ball is popped up with one hand and the other hand follows through to shoot.

The goal, with four minutes and 18 seconds left in the quarter, helped give the Tars some breathing room with a 4-2 lead. McCall would add a lob goal from set on Cal-bound senior Jessica Robinson’s entry pass, but Los Al kept fighting.

Junior Jessica Dunn scored her third goal of the game just after a third-quarter Los Al power play ended, narrowing the margin to 5-3. Then, early in the fourth, UC Davis-bound senior Kaylee Miller scored a lob shot from five meters to cut it to a single goal.

But McCall had an answer. Her shot from set was initially blocked by Los Al goalie Allie Taylor but trickled in, helping Newport Harbor to its final advantage with 2:40 left to play.

Senior Morgan Vickers had to make just five saves for Newport Harbor, which limited the Griffins offensively, especially in holding them to a single goal in the first half. By then, the Sailors had goals from Kaleigh Gilchrist, McCall and Stanford-bound senior Mimi Bury — the latter goal on a steal and assist by Erin Reid — for a 3-1 halftime advantage.

“We targeted their main players and we tried to shut them down as much as possible,” Klippert said. “We knew that their favorite shots were lobs, so we told our goalie to watch those and really helped back on [defense]. We really pressed tight.”

Gilchrist had three steals, and seniors Robinson and Elizabeth Wheeler added two each.

Los Alamitos Coach Dave Carlson said his team played its best game of the year, but added that Newport Harbor was also the top team the Griffins have seen all year.

“My best players were having a hard time making passes over their press defense,” Carlson said. “Newport’s deep and just has a lot of good players. I can’t see anybody beating them if they’re playing their best. It’s just a solid, solid team.”

Sunset League

Newport Harbor 6, Los Alamitos 4

SCORE BY QUARTERS

LA – Dunn 3, Miller 1. Saves – Taylor 7.

NH – McCall 3, Bury 1, Klippert 1, Gilchrist 1. Saves – Vickers 5.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].