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It’s no secret that Newport Harbor’s boys water polo team is on a major mission.
And the seniors are leading the way.
On a day in which five Newport Harbor seniors signed with major college programs, the Sailors played with the focus and determination of a motivated team in the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals against formidable Loyola.
Second-seeded Newport Harbor scored the first six goals and received 14 saves from USC-bound goalie Blake Jackson to reach their second consecutive Division 1 final with a 9-6 victory at the Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine.
If that wasn’t sharp enough, seniors Ike Love (Stanford), Makoto Kenney (UCLA) and Tommy Kennedy (Cal) each scored three goals. Senior Reed Stemler (USC) added two steals and an assist for the Sailors (26-3), last season’s Division 1 runner-up.
“I thought this was one of the best games we’ve ever played,” Jackson said. “This was really good. We came out with intensity and didn’t lay off.”
Half: Blake Jackson makes 3rd save v power play in 2nd and @NewportAquatics leads 5-0 v Loyola @ocvarsity 🤽♂️💦💯 pic.twitter.com/f5N7Z7X8MQ
— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) November 14, 2019
Newport Harbor will play nemesis and top-seeded Harvard-Westlake in the finals Saturday at Woollett. Last year, Harvard-Westlake defeated Newport Harbor 5-3 in the championship.
“We’re excited to get back in the finals and have that opportunity to compete and play another game together,” Newport Harbor coach Ross Sinclair said.
Jackson made four of his saves against the Cubs’ power play, which finished 0 for 5. Loyola made a late-season surge by defeating Harvard-Westlake in the finals of the North-South Challenge.
Love scored the first goal on an inside pass from Kennedy on the extra-man, and the Sailors finished the day 4 for 7 on the power play.
Big Ike Love doing big things 1-0 Newport v Loyola D1 semi @ocvarsity 🤽♂️💦💯 pic.twitter.com/hHwWzQgoyM
— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) November 14, 2019
Also in Division 1:
Harvard-Westlake 10, Huntington Beach 7: The Oilers pushed the defending Division 1 champion, tying the score at 5 going into the fourth period, but couldn’t hold on at Woollett.
“We fought like lions,” Huntington Beach coach Sasa Branisavljevic said. “Maybe we ran out of steam a little bit in the fourth. … We can learn from them quite a bit, especially on how to finish.”
Chase Dodd and Cooper Haddad each scored twice for the Oilers (18-9).
In Division 2:
Foothill 10, Palos Verdes 9 (OT): Sophomore Jackson Matos scored six goals, including the winner with 1:23 left the second overtime period from about 6 meters, as the Knights (22-8) won their second consecutive overtime thriller to reach a third straight Division 2 final.
“Bit scary,” Matos said, “(but) we have a good thing going for us with overtimes.”
Avery Stovner sealed the victory against the top seed with a steal in the closing seconds at Woollett. Liam Harrison added 13 saves for Foothill, the two-time defending Division 2 champion.
Foothill does it again! Beats #1 seed Palos Verdes 10-9 behind 6 goals by Jackson Matos – get pumped for Foothill-San Clemente in D2 final on Saturday 🤽♂️💦💯@ocvarsity pic.twitter.com/BE0bwz4wRj
— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) November 14, 2019
Foothill will play San Clemente in the finals Saturday.
San Clemente 11, Mira Costa 4: Christian Hosea scored three goals at Woollett to lead the Tritons (23-7), who built a 6-0 lead on the way to reaching their first final since winning Division 1 in 1991.
In Division 3:
Schurr 7, Beckman 5: The Spartans stayed hot after their upset of top-seeded Long Beach Wilson in the quarterfinals and advanced at Woollett to their first Division 3 final. Beckman, which tied for second in the Pacific Coast League, made its first semifinal appearance. Junior Nathan Monette drew five exclusions and scored one for the Patriots.
Santa Barbara 10, Northwood 9: The third-seeded Dons held off the Timberwolves to reach their first Division 3 final. Max Abravanel scored three goals for Northwood.
In Division 4:
JSerra 13, Pacifica 8: Lachlan Treister scored four goals at Ocean View High and freshman Conor Brough added three as the top-seeded Lions (26-5) advanced to their first final since 2009 in Division 2. They will play San Juan Hills on Saturday.
San Juan Hills 9, El Dorado 7 (OT): USC-bound Max Miller scored nine goals — seven in regulation, two in overtime — at Yorba Linda, and Noah Johnson made 17 saves to lift the No. 2 Stallions (22-9) to their second section final.
In Division 5:
Top-seeded Mission Viejo and third-seeded Trabuco Hills – both from the Sea View League – each won to advance to Saturday’s finals. The Diablos beat host Palm Desert 14-9 at Indio while Trabuco Hills defeated St. Francis 9-7 at El Toro.
