Girls water polo: Harbor shows up in fourth to win

Steve Virgen

NEWPORT BEACH - With the score tied to begin the fourth quarter,

the Newport Harbor High girls water polo team saw a chance to redeem

itself after three quarters of what co-coach Bill Barnett called some of

the worst play the Sailors have had in their first three games.

Harbor senior Jenna Booth, freshman Jessica Ball and goalie Heather

Deyden saw the opportunity as a chance to step up to the challenge. They

did.

Ball scored the goal that gave Harbor the lead and Booth scored two

insurance goals, all in the span of 3:35, as the Sailors took over in

that fourth quarter for a 6-4 nonleague victory over visiting Esperanza

Tuesday.

Deyden, who finished with eight saves, turned back four shots in the

final quarter.

“We should’ve stepped up earlier,” said Booth, who also scored in

Harbor’s first game Dec. 5. “The team played mediocre, but we stepped up

at the end and there was better communication.”

Barnett said he was not pleased with the Tars’ performance, but he was

impressed with the fourth quarter. Not, however, totally impressed.

“We still played very sloppily at times (in the fourth),” Barnett

said. “We won the game, but it was winning ugly. Our passing was rather

atrocious.”

The Sailors’ off-target passing led to 16 steals by Esperanza. But,

the Aztecs (7-3) had only two steals in the final quarter as the Harbor

duo of Ball and Booth came through.

With less than a minute remaining, Ball stole the ball from

Esperanza’s Jessica Conner, who scored three goals and had four steals of

her own. Ball raced on the breakaway and threw the ball into the cage

with Conner draped over her. Ball finished with two goals, three steals

and one block.

Just 40 seconds after the scoring play, Ball set up Booth with a

picture-perfect pass and Booth scored for a 5-3 lead. Booth scored again

after Katherine Belden fed her a pass.

Deyden made two spectacular saves in the fourth.

With Harbor (2-1) protecting a 5-3 lead, Deyden shut down the Aztecs

on their man-up opportunity. Then with 1:10 remaining she went one-on-one

with Conner and earned another save.

The Sailors also redeemed themselves with a solid defense led by Erin

Kelly Bates, who had five steals. Also, sophomore Annie Wight snagged

four steals and scored a goal, a lob shot in the third quarter to tie the

game at two.

After Wight’s goal, Conner scored with 1:52 remaining in the quarter.

But, Ball would score 38 seconds later after Bates made a steal.

The Sailors, ranked No. 4 in Orange County, were coming off a huge

victory Saturday over then-No. 4 Marina (now No. 5), and came into the

game a little too confident, Booth said.

“We came into this thinking too highly of ourselves,” she said. “We

needed to play with a more level head from the beginning.”

NONLEAGUE

Newport Harbor 6, Esperanza 4

Esperanza 0 2 1 1 - 4

Newport Harbor 1 0 2 3 - 6

Esperanza - Conner 3, Six 1.

Saves - Mills 4.

Newport Harbor - Booth 2, Ball 2, Belden 1, Wight 1.

Saves - Deyden 8.