Huntington Beach girls’ water polo falls to familiar foe
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Huntington Beach made strides in its second look at Beckman, but the Oilers had no answer for Brooke Knisley in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 girls’ water polo playoffs.
The junior center accumulated eight goals — six in the first half — to lead the host Patriots on a rainy Thursday evening in Irvine.
“Obviously, they have a force,” Huntington Beach coach Kelly Doherty said. “Their center, she’s done a really good job throughout the season. It’s been really exciting to watch her play and come up. She releases the ball so quickly. … Her release, I think, is her biggest strength. She does a good job of getting separation before the ball comes in, so she has the time and space to do what she needs to do.”
Beckman (21-6) jumped out to a 5-1 lead after the first quarter, but Huntington Beach largely matched the Patriots, possession for possession in the second quarter. A Knisley penalty-shot goal on the final play of the first half put a damper in the momentum, spotting Beckman a 10-5 advantage.
The Patriots’ passing was problematic, with left-handers Angelina Abshier and Leah Suh helping to pick the defense apart. Abshier had a hat-trick and four assists, while Suh added two goals and four assists.
“Lefties, they come like gold,” Beckman coach Duje Grubisic said. “They’re like diamonds. If you can have a lefty that can make a correct pass in a correct time, and that [can escape] when they drop off, it’s a huge difference.”
Hailey Goodwin also had three goals for Beckman, which received eight saves from freshman goalkeeper Allyson Lu.
Huntington Beach (13-12), which was forced to conduct much of its offensive efforts from the perimeter, got a team-high four goals from Maya Tovar.
Sofia Aguirre, Lily Franzese and Leila Tovar each scored two goals. Violet Ensley added a goal, two assists and two steals. Bella Hatala also had a pair of assists for the Oilers.
The Oilers worked through a 4-7 start to the season to find a rhythm. From Dec. 14 to Jan. 10, Huntington Beach rattled off eight consecutive victories, a streak that included wins over Marina, Edison and Fountain Valley in the Sunset League.
Doherty noted the marked improvement from the first month of her initial season as the head coach of the program, when Huntington Beach suffered an 11-1 defeat at Beckman on Dec. 10.
“I think the second half of our season was a lot more successful than our first half,” Doherty said. “I think we started kind of accomplishing some of the goals that we were setting for ourselves early on in the season.
“It’s great. They’re a really motivated group of girls, and they set [up] the school to get to this position at the beginning of our season. I’m proud of them for getting here.”
The Sunset League could only help in that regard, as the grouping offered opportunities to take on Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor, both of which qualified for the Open Division.
Beckman shared the South Coast League championship with San Clemente (20-8), and the Patriots will meet the Tritons in the quarterfinals at home on Wednesday.
Grubisic called San Clemente “a big rivalry,” adding, “If you want to be a champion, you got to beat everybody.”
Also in the CIF Southern Section girls’ water polo playoffs:
Newport Harbor 12, Long Beach Wilson 8: The Sailors were victorious in their first Open Division pool-play game Thursday at Corona del Mar High.
Newport Harbor (22-5) continues pool play Wednesday against Foothill at 6 p.m. at CdM.
Mater Dei 10, Corona del Mar 4: The Sea Kings fell to the top-ranked Monarchs on Thursday in an Open Division pool-play game.
Corona del Mar (19-8) plays at Westlake Village Oaks Christian in another pool-play game Wednesday, needing a win to stay in contention to make the final.
Laguna Beach 12, Rosary 9: Kara Carver scored a team-high five goals for the Breakers in the Division 1 first-round match Thursday at El Toro High.
Presley Jones added four goals for No. 2-seeded Laguna Beach (17-11), which plays at Studio City Harvard-Westlake in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Staff writer Matt Szabo contributed to this report.
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