McCall’s shot wins it for Newport

LAKE FOREST — Seeing her older sister Nicolina McCall in a tight girls’ water polo match for Newport Harbor High, Colleen yearned to tell her one thing in the rain.

She had to wait in the cold.

Nicolina eventually gave Colleen the opportunity to speak up after 29 minutes, 13 seconds of battling more than the elements Friday night.

McCall put away Laguna Beach, recording the game-winner in sudden-death overtime to lift the Sailors to a 10-9 victory and into the semifinals of the Irvine Southern California Championships.

Once out of the El Toro High pool, Colleen let loose.

“The Lakers won in overtime by one [over the Celtics Thursday] and we won in overtime by one,” Colleen told Nicolina. “I wanted to say that the whole game.”

Colleen’s comparison was right on.

Nicolina just laughed and hurried into the locker room to take cover with the rest of the Sailors, who are ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll.

A lot of people not only left numb because of the conditions, but because of how tournament defending champion Newport Harbor (18-5) ended things to move on to face top-ranked Dos Pueblos of Goleta today at Irvine High at 10 a.m.

From just outside five meters, McCall threw a shot not really to beat Laguna Beach (21-3), but to beat the 30-second shot clock.

The USC-bound senior accomplished both at the 1:47 mark in overtime. Her fifth goal was a result of some reluctance.

“I was just kind of swimming in circles. I didn’t really want to go to set,” said McCall, who notched her first sudden-death, game-winning goal of her career. “I ended up there. I just kind of threw it up.

“I aimed for the corner. Luckily, it just went in there.”

Coaches always say luck is created by hard work.

McCall, a two-meter player, definitely backed up that statement with her play against Laguna Beach, ranked No. 1 in Division II.

The two teams met for the first time this season. The quarterfinal match played out more like a section championship. Both teams went back and forth, no team capable of taking a two-goal lead.

Newport Harbor Coach Bill Barnett expected a close one after the Sailors outscored the opposition, 28-10, in the first two matches of the tournament on Thursday.

It seems “every time we play them it’s always been a one-goal game,” Barnett said.

It lived up to another barnburner and practically everyone was on the edge of their seat.

Barnett almost got off his chair 13 seconds after Kaleigh Gilchrist gave the Sailors a 9-8 lead with a backhanded shot with 1:34 left in regulation.

On the ensuing possession, Laguna Beach’s Annika Dries drew an exclusion on Newport Harbor’s Kathryn Klippert. An irate Barnett yelled at one of the referees and received a yellow card.

“I thought the two-meter girl made good contact with the ball and [it] shouldn’t have been an ejection,” Barnett said.

On a power play, Laguna Beach senior Natasha Schulman evened the match, 9-9, with 67 seconds remaining in the fourth period.

Schulman’s fourth goal marked the ninth tie in regulation. Colleen, a junior, was up to something with her Lakers-Sailors comparison.

This match proved to be as heated as the Lakers-Celtics rivalry. It was intense to the final buzzer, like the Lakers’ 110-109 overtime victory against Boston on Thursday night.

Another winning streak came to a halt in this one. The Breakers’ eight-match streak ended.

McCall never expected to break a 9-9 tie with a desperation shot. McCall received an opportunity after Gilchrist came up with a key steal, her fourth of the match. This after goalie Krissy Burger blocked a Laguna Beach shot.

The Sailors’ defense stepped up late, getting stellar play from Kathryn Manderino, Klippert and McCall, who finished with three steals each.

Next is Dos Pueblos, a team the Sailors beat, 9-2, in the semifinals of the Holiday Cup on Dec. 31.

This time it will be a different matchup as the Chargers will have sophomore star Kiley Neushul, who missed the first meeting against Newport Harbor.

“One of their top players is back, so who knows [what to expect],” said Gilchrist, who learned Dos Pueblos goalie Sami Hill is out with a broken thumb. “She’s a really good goalie, so maybe that will affect them, but probably not because they’re such a good team.

“We want to come out and definitely do well. [We just pulled out] our toughest win.”

Colleen McCall let everyone know about it by drawing comparisons to her favorite NBA team.

Irvine Southern California Championships

Quarterfinal

Newport Harbor 10, Laguna Beach 9

SCORE BY QUARTERS

LB – Schulman 4, Dries 3, Holechek 2. Saves – Manetta 8.

NH – N. McCall 5, Klippert 2, Manderino 1, Gilchrist 1, Butera 1. Saves – Burger 4.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].