Newport Harbor Tops Santa Barbara for Third Place

Newport Harbor allowed only one goal in the fourth quarter as the Sailors held off Santa Barbara, 8-6, in the third-place game of the Irvine Southern California Women’s Water Polo Championships on Saturday afternoon at William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine.

Santa Barbara struck first, but the Lady Sailors soon seized control of the game. Sophie Leveque’s goal in the first quarter gave Newport Harbor a 3-2 lead with 2:02 left in the quarter. After the Dons tied the score at 3-3, Kailyn Obenauer put the Lady Sailors back on top, 4-3, with 1:17 left in the quarter

With leading scorer Maddy McLaren out indefinitely, the Lady Sailors will need to get added production from several players if they hope to continue to be a threat for the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship. Against Santa Barbara, seven Newport Harbor players scored. Senior defender Mary Rose Wight led the way with two goals and three steals.

“We all have a more important role on the team now and we know we can do more,” Wight said.

The second quarter remained a defensive game with the Sailors slowly increasing their advantage. Allyson Hall scored from the right side on a shot to the short side that pushed the lead to 5-3. Wight followed with a deep shot from about 10 meters that gave the Lady Sailors a 6-3 lead.

Santa Barbara would answer just before the end of the half, but Wight would open the third quarter with another outside shot that pushed the Sailor lead back to 7-4. The Dons would get only one goal in each of the final two quarters as Newport Harbor's defense stiffened. Goalie Sarah Wilkey finished with 13 saves. Elissia Schilling had three steals and Catherine Carpenter had a two steals and a goal. Also scoring for the Lady Sailors was Carly Christian and Presley Pender.

The Lady Sailors finish up their Sunset League schedule on Wednesday, hosting Marina at 6 p.m. Then Newport Harbor closes outs its regular season against visiting Riverside Poly in a nonleague match on Friday at 4:15 p.m.  

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The all-tournament team from the Irvine Southern California Girls Water Polo Championships:

Most outstanding field player -- Kiley Neushul, Dos Pueblos, sr.

Most outstanding goalie -- Sarah Wilkey, Newport Harbor, sr.

All-tournament Team:

Kodi Hill, Dos Pueblos, jr.

Tiera Schroeder, Dos Pueblos, sr.

Melena Masson, Laguna Beach, jr.

Jessie Holechek, Laguna Beach, sr.

Kailyn Obenauer, Newport Harbor, sr.

Catherine Carpenter, Newport Harbor, sr.

Kelsey O'Brien, Santa Barbara, so.

Rachel Fattal, Los Alamitos, jr.

Diana Murphy, Corona del Mar, jr.

Kelli Boling, Foothill, sr.

Savannah Fletcher, Agoura, sr.

Victoria Williams, Vista, sr.

Alys Williams, Edison, sr.