Trabuco Hills Wins Water Polo Showdown to Finish Second in Sea View League

Dana Hills dominated the Sea View League’s girls water polo standings from start to finish this season, en route to a first-place finish. However, second place and a potential home first-round playoff match was on the line Thursday afternoon when Trabuco Hills hosted Aliso Niguel.

For the second time this season, the Mustangs managed to squeak by Aliso Niguel, 5-4, in a defensive struggle. The clash was dominated by defense and featured tremendous performances from each goalkeeper.

Senior Jessie Vuozzo of Trabuco Hills (17-10, 5-3 in league) stopped eight shots, including a score-tying attempt at the buzzer, to preserve a one-goal victory over the Wolverines (15-11, 4-4). Mustangs coach Sean McMahon wasn’t surprised to see his squad faced with yet another stressful situation in the closing moments.

"I didn't expect anything but a close game against Aliso Niguel," McMahon said. "It always seems to come down to one goal when we face them, and you always want to be the team with the ball at the end. They had the final possession today but we were able to shut them down one last time."

The teams traded goals early on. Aliso Niguel’s Erica Castillo and Trabuco Hills’ Mackenzie Baber each scored twice in the first quarter. Castillo added a third goal in the first half to knot the score at 3-3 with less than three minutes remaining in the second quarter.

It would be the final Wolverines score for nearly 13 minutes of game time. The Mustangs' defense strangled Aliso Niguel’s offense through the entire third quarter, when Trabuco Hills took the lead for good.

Senior Amy Burrola buried a shot past Wolverines goalkeeper Elise Kosarek to push the Mustangs ahead 4-3 five minutes into the quarter. Baber netted her third goal of the contest 70 seconds later to provide Trabuco Hills some important insurance.

“Mackenzie has been our most valuable player for the past couple of years,” McMahon said. “She’s our point guard out there and runs the show. We get the ball to her as much as we can and she made it happen today.”

The Mustangs' defense continued to execute with the newfound lead, allowing only eight shot attempts on 19 possessions in the second half. Trabuco Hills’ commitment to developing a quality defensive strategy has been high on McMahon’s agenda all season.

"Defense is obviously the key for any successful team," McMahon said. "It won us the game and we've been working extra hard on defense during these last few weeks. The girls stepped up and put out a great effort. I'm really proud that we held at team like Aliso to such a low scoring total.”

Ilani Douthat snapped Aliso Niguel out of its scoring drought when she sent a streaming shot off the Vuozzo’s outstretched hands midway through the fourth quarter. The Wolverines cut Trabuco Hills’ lead to 5-4 with the goal.

Kosarek couldn’t have played a better final period for the Wolverines. The goalkeeper turned away three shots in the session, each of which would’ve dropped Aliso Niguel into a deeper hole.

Despite Kosarek’s efforts, Trabuco Hills refused to allow its lead to slip away. The Mustangs forced a series of turnovers before Vuozzo jumped in front of the Wolverines’ last-second heave.

Trabuco Hills and Aliso Niguel now both have their tickets punched for the postseason. Thursday’s result gives the Stallions a shot at hosting a match in the first round, an opportunity that McMahon relishes.

“When we talked about our goals at the beginning of the season, this was at the top of the list,” McMahon said. “We knew Dana Hills would be very tough, but we figured if we could at least get second it would be huge for us. If we can get a home game that would be sweet. Either way, coming in as a second-place team is going to be a huge advantage because we’ll get a much better draw.”

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