Foothill Ends Bell Gardens’ Winning Streak at 85 Games

Eighty-five was enough for Foothill.

The Knights, the top-ranked girls’ water polo team in Orange County, beat Bell Gardens, 5-4, and stopped the Lancers’ 85-game winning streak Saturday at Heritage Park in the final of the Irvine Southern California Championships.

Brittany Hayes and Gabbie Domanic--both U.S. national youth team members--each scored two goals for Foothill, the top-ranked team in the Southern Section Division I poll.

Hayes, who was named the most outstanding field player of the tournament, also had two assists. Vickie Brown scored a first-quarter goal for the Knights, who built a two-goal lead in the quarter and held on.

Bell Gardens won two section Division III titles and hadn’t lost since it started girls’ water polo two seasons ago. Foothill is the defending Division I champion.

“I believe in this team more than any other team I’ve been on,” said Dan Klatt, Foothill’s co-coach. “We were just playing great defense today.”

Foothill goalie Emily Feher anchored the defense. With 29 seconds remaining, Feher preserved the 5-4 lead by stopping a shot from two meters by Patty Cardenas. Then the Knights (24-1) ran out the clock.

Cardenas, a junior national team member, did not score for Bell Gardens. The Lancers (25-1) have two junior national team members, Cardenas and goalie Alex Lopez, and two youth national team members, Melissa Madrid and Sheetal Narsai.

But they couldn’t find the range Saturday in the final, thanks in large part to Foothill’s defense. Brown and Crystal Carroll each had two steals and Breana Allison was one of the primary defenders on Cardenas.

“We just plain missed some shots today,” Bell Gardens Coach Robert Greenamyer said. “We had our chances, but that’s part of the game. We got beat by a better team today.”

Saturday, Foothill won its 16th and 17th in a row, including an impressive 11-1 victory in the semifinals over Santa Margarita, ranked fifth in the county.

In the third-place game:

No. 5 Santa Margarita 7, No. 3 Capistrano Valley 3--Kristina Kunkel scored four goals and Erika Figge had three for the Eagles (15-8). Amber Stachowski, Aimee Stachowski and Clare Meadows scored for the Cougars (18-6-1), who lost to Bell Gardens in the semifinals, 6-3.

In the fifth-place game:

Agoura 9, Newport Harbor 3--Jessica Ball scored two goals for Newport Harbor (15-8), the second-ranked team in Orange County.

De De Perram, an all-tournament selection, and Erika Clark scored three goals each for Agoura, the second-ranked team in Division II.

In the ninth-place game:

No. 4 El Toro 8, No. 6 Marina 7--Katie Hedley and Brittany Ditto each scored two goals for El Toro (18-6), which finished 4-1 in the tournament. Erin Wilson scored three goals for Marina (15-9-1).

In the consolation final:

Canyon 8, Coronado 7--Courtney Mathewson scored six goals, including the game-winner, and her sister Lauren had a goal and six steals for the Comanches (18-6), who finished 4-1 in the tournament.