Edison girls’ water polo uses overtime push to advance in CIF playoffs
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The Edison High girls’ water polo team matched up with Long Beach Millikan twice earlier this season.
Edison beat the Rams by a goal in a nonleague game in early December. Two days later, Millikan won by two goals in a tournament.
A close match, then, could be expected when the teams faced off Tuesday night in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs.
Going to overtime certainly qualified.
Edison prevailed, earning a 9-7 win at its home pool after the extra time to extend its season.
Senior attacker Gaby Kelly led the Chargers (15-14) with four goals. Edison, guided by first-year head coach Eric Perales, heads to No. 4-seeded Downey in the second round on Friday.
“It felt pretty cool,” said Kelly, headed to UC Santa Barbara for swimming. “I was really happy I was able to help the team.”
Senior Madison Emerson and junior Cali Spencer each scored twice for Edison, the fourth-place finisher from the tough Sunset League, and sophomore Nora Stovall added a goal. Junior goalkeeper Camryn Murphy made 13 saves, 10 of those coming in the second half and overtime.
“I’ve never been in an overtime for high school before, so that was a new experience for me.” Murphy said. “It was exciting and stressful, at the same time.”
The same could be said about regulation, as neither team led by more than two goals. Edison took a 6-4 lead in the fourth quarter, on Stovall’s rebound goal.
But Moore League runner-up Millikan (13-11) tied the match as freshman McKenna Rosenberg, who led the visitors with three goals, struck twice from the outside.
“It seemed like we’d go on a mini-run, and they were resilient and came right back and made it a game,” Perales said. “They never quit. It was really fun … We’ve just got to clean up our turnovers.”
Edison responded in the first overtime period. Emerson, bound for Concordia University, scored her team-best 75th goal, a quick strike assisted by Kelly on a power play that she drew.
“I felt really good, because I was able to get it really fast and just shoot it in really quick,” Emerson said. “I knew that first goal right off the bat would be really big, just for morale reasons. Starting [the overtime] off being up was nice.”
Perales said Emerson, a defender who drew multiple exclusions Tuesday, has been like the team’s Swiss army knife this season.
“She’s willing to do it all for the team,” he said.
Edison’s overtime onslaught continued. Spencer then struck on an outside shot from about eight meters, before Kelly’s cross-cage power-play goal gave Edison a 9-6 lead after the first of two three-minute overtime periods.
Millikan’s Grace Darby scored in the final minute of the second overtime, but by then the victory was secure.
Edison will have to pull an upset in the next round to make the Division 2 quarterfinals. The Chargers almost accomplished that task last year, losing 10-9 at eventual Division 2 champion Alta Loma in the second round.
The season has come together well for Edison, considering Perales said he took over just a couple of weeks before it started. Chargers alumnus Jarrett Tossey, who also coaches boys’ water polo at Edison, resigned after one season as the girls’ coach but has still been supportive. Tossey operated the scoreboard on Tuesday night.
“These girls needed a coach,” Perales said. “The whole first two months of season was us all learning each other, trying to figure out what we do on offense, trying to figure out how we help on defense. Our defense is improved significantly.”
Segerstrom 9, Estancia 7: The Eagles were eliminated on the road Tuesday in the first round of the Division 5 playoffs.
Estancia finished the season 16-12.
Los Amigos 11, Riverside Notre Dame 6: The Lobos won their Division 6 opener Tuesday at La Quinta High.
Los Amigos (11-10) hosts Cathedral City in the second round on Friday.
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