Breakers keep on winning

The Laguna Beach High girls’ water polo team continues to roll in 2008.

The Breakers improved to 7-0 Tuesday by turning back Edison, 8-5, in nonleague play at the Laguna pool.

The game was a battle between top-ranked teams: Laguna is ranked No. 1 in CIF Division II and Edison was No. 6 in the Division I poll.

The Breakers led all the way. They were up, 4-1, at the end of the first quarter and 6-2 at the half.

“But then we hit a dry spell,” Laguna Coach Ethan Damato said.

The Breakers were outscored, 2-0, in the third quarter as Edison pulled to within 6-4 heading into the final quarter.

“This was a good test for us,” Damato said. “We battled through some bad shooting and odd moments to get a quality win.

“Edison is a team that a lot of people have been talking about this year. They have two really, really good players and probably one of the best defenders (Monique Wilson) in the county.”

Natasha Schulman, Annika Dries and Lexie Ross all scored twice for Laguna. Jessica Shusko and Melena Masson both provided key goals coming off the bench.

Damato also praised the play of sophomore goalie Etianne Manetta, who recorded 10 saves.

Manetta was thrust into the starting role in the cage after starter Sarah Zuziak, a senior, broke her thumb during a preseason scrimmage in late-November.

Laguna came into the match fresh off winning the Villa Park Classic. The Breakers defeated Great Oak (17-3), Huntington Beach (17-5) and El Toro (11-5) before taking care of Palos Verde (12-7) in the semifinals. On Saturday, they completed an undefeated tournament run by downing Riverside Poly, 13-5, in the final. Dries was six for six in the championship game and went on to be named tournament MVP. Ross, who scored twice, and Taylor Dodson, who had three goals, both were named to the all-tournament team.

“It was a good week for us,” Damato said. “We were striving to get better with each game and I think we accomplished that goal. We are playing very well both offensively and defensively. We are giving up about five goals a game on defense.”