San Clemente Puts Away Santa Margarita, 12-9, to Advance to Semifinals

Two down. Two to go.

The San Clemente girls water polo team took its second step toward the CIF Southern Section Division 2 championship game Saturday afternoon at Santa Margarita High, where the Tritons rode the momentum of a dominating third quarter and held on in the fourth for a 12-9 victory over the host Eagles.

What had been a defensive struggle throughout a first half in which both sides scored four goals and collected four steals, turned into an offensive outpouring for San Clemente, which went on a six-minute, 5-0 run to start the third quarter and take control of the contest.

Taylor Smith sparked the decisive run with a skip shot from within two meters on an assist from Kelsey Thornton, then Candyce Schroeder sent in two pinpoint beauties from the distance, the first from head on, and the second from a seemingly impossible angle from the left flat.

"As soon as we started playing our game, and quit turning the ball over, we slowed things down and we had them," Schroeder said.

Thornton followed up Schroeder's goals with a backhanded score, and Smith capped the run with a picturesque lob, again from long distance, and again from a razor-thin angle.

"We made a few too many mistakes," Santa Margarita coach Kevin Ricks said. "In the fourth, we did a nice job of creating opportunities for ourselves, but we needed to be a little tougher defensively in the third.

"You have to hand it to San Clemente. They are a strong team. Schroeder was an absolute handful in the middle there. She's a difference-maker."

Schroeder finished the contest with three goals, as did Thornton, who also collected three steals.

While both Schroeder and Thornton stood out for San Clemente, the day's most impressive performance was turned in by Tritons' goalkeeper Kayla Colapinto, who racked up 17 saves on 30 Santa Margarita shots, including blocking six of seven Eagles attempts during the pivotal third-quarter run.

"We knew that [Colapinto] could block two-meter goals," Schroeder said. "So our strategy going in there was to let them turn, let Mackenzie [Beck] turn and put her hands up. She's good at those shots, so we really had to rely on [Colapinto], and she really did a good job. She saved us in a lot of spots."

Santa Margarita, which features a young lineup that includes three freshmen and four sophomores, did an outstanding job in the final quarter of pressing, forcing turnovers and clawing back into the game.

Freshman Haley Wan scored a game-high five goals for the Eagles, including two during the fourth-quarter push that saw Santa Margarita turn a 10-5 deficit into an 11-9 disadvantage before San Clemente's Celine Lazzaro ended the match with a goal at the buzzer.

"We're running on all cylinders, the girls played really well," San Clemente coach Logan Powell said. "Obviously, the fourth quarter was a bit of a let-down for us, but it was really good experience. Playing with the lead isn't always the easiest thing. Other teams get desperate, they do things, they press a little harder, and we have to be able to adjust to their adjustments."

With the quarterfinal victory, San Clemente now moves on to face Long Beach Wilson in the semifinals Wednesday at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine.

"Wednesday, we're really excited for it," Schroeder said. "We just have to go out and play our game, get it within two meters and defend."

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San Clemente      -- 1  3  6  2  --  12
Santa Margarita -- 1  3   1  4  --  9


San Clemente (23-5) -- Kesley Thornton 3, Candyce Shroeder 3, Brigette Kimbrough 2, Taylor Smith 2, Celine Lazzaro 1, Mikaela Mourer 1.

Santa Margarita (16-15) -- Haley Wan 5, Mackenzie Beck 3, Tessa deRecat 1.