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NEWPORT BEACH — Newport Harbor’s boys water polo team displayed many of the traits Saturday that have made it a dominant force this fall.
The Sailors again closed a period with a seven-on-six goal to beat the buzzer. They again played as a team, seeking to establish a center attack and showing an eagerness to pass to a teammate with a higher percentage shot. They again made a game-altering run.
But Newport Harbor also provided a glimpse into its mentality in sprinting past host Corona del Mar 14-6 in the semifinals of the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs.
While the results weren’t necessarily surprising, the snap shot painted a strikingly clear picture of the motivation driving an undefeated team whose slimmest margin of victory is four goals.
In the middle of the fourth quarter, Corona del Mar (25-6) called a timeout on the power play trailing 13-4. Newport Harbor coach Ross Sinclair checked his notes and adjusted the Sailors’ defense, which included inserting starting attacker Mason Netzer back into the match.
The 6-on-5 advantage quickly turned into a 6-on-4 but Newport Harbor goalie Luke Harris blocked two shots as the Sailors (30-0) not only negated the chances but countered.
Netzer drew an exclusion in transition and skipped in a shot for a 14-4 lead.
The Sailors played the defensive sequence as if they were down by a goal with 30 seconds left in regulation.
“We never give up,” Netzer said after the Sailors’ 17th consecutive win in the rivalry series. “Ross taught us to go out all four quarters (and) no matter what, we do not stop pushing. That’s what we do. We never stop no matter what the score is.”
“It’s really Ross,” the junior left-hander said. “He’s the one pushing us day by day. Getting up every day at 6 (a.m.), going to practice. Being excited to practice, which is awesome.”
Newport Harbor will carry the mentality into its sixth consecutive section final on Nov. 16 at Mt. SAC. The Sailors will face defending champion and No. 2 JSerra, which edged visiting Oaks Christian 13-12 in the other semifinal.
“We still got one more game to go,” said Netzer, who had two goals and four assists.
Newport Harbor closed the first half with a buzzer-beating goal by Connor Ohl on the 7-on-6 to take a 6-3 lead.
The Sailors then went on a 5-0 run in the third period to take control. Center Geoff Slutzky scored two of his match-high five goals in the period.
Corona del Mar coach Lucas Reynolds was encouraged by his team’s first half performance while wondering when Newport Harbor’s run would surface.
“We knew it was coming,” he said. “We thought we played really well in the first half … but I couldn’t be more proud of the kids. They fought the entire time.”
Mica Grantham scored twice to lead the Sea Kings’ attack.
In the other semifinal, Colt Bradley scored four goals and Taylor Bell and Beck Early each added three for the Lions (26-3).
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