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COSTA MESA — As Newport Harbor and Orange Lutheran’s girls water polo teams were about to finish warmups for their CIF-SS Open Division semifinal on Tuesday night, the crowd burst into cheers after learning the stunning result of the other semifinal.
An unpredictable playoff round in the section’s premier division was just starting to heating up.
Sophomore center Gabby Alexson scored from center with 2:13 remaining in double sudden death overtime as third-seeded Newport Harbor rallied past two-time defending champion Orange Lutheran 12-11 in a thrilling match at Orange Coast College.
Alexson scored on the Sailors’ first possession of the second sudden-death period, taking a well-placed entry pass from sophomore Madison Mack. As the lob pass dropped between two defenders, Alexson reached for the ball, turned and scored at the near corner.
And just like that, Newport Harbor’s young squad emerged with its breakout moment. The Sailors (24-5) screamed for joy in the water, on the pool deck and finally in the locker room.
“I feel like electric right now,” said Alexson, who scored three goals from center, drew six exclusions and a penalty. “All us, we’ve played together for so long. (I’m) so proud of everyone. Last year, we were in the same situation and we fell to OLu (7-6) in the semifinals.”
“They can’t get a three-peat anymore,” she added. “It feels so good.”
In the finals Saturday at Mt. SAC, Newport Harbor will face No. 4 seed Oaks Christian, which upset No. 1 Mater Dei 12-11 in overtime in the earlier semifinal at Mater Dei High.
Few probably predicted a Newport Harbor-Oaks Christian final.
“Except for Oaks and Newport people,” said Newport Harbor coach Ross Sinclair, who guided the Sailors’ boys to an Open Division title in the fall. “I think any Newport team at this point … we’re always going to the little things. We’re going to work in practice, make the appropriate adjustments come postseason. That’s part of it.”
“Regular season is fun but postseason is where you got to go take it up a notch,” the coach added.
Orange Lutheran, which was 2-0 against Newport Harbor in the regular season, led 10-8 with just over two minutes left in regulation but couldn’t hold off the Sailors.
Newport Harbor freshman attacker Addison Ting scored on a rare 6-on-3 power play with 1:55 left. A perimeter strike by Sailors sophomore attacker Valery Verdugo with 21 seconds left tied the score at 10-10 and forced overtime.
Verdugo recorded her fifth assist early in the first three-minute overtime by finding Alexson, who narrowly beat the shot clock with a goal from center.
Orange Lutheran (23-4) answered late in the first OT frame with a redirect by Jailynn Robinson off a cross pass by Michelle Urkov but Newport Harbor eventually seized its opportunity.
“Every year we’ve wanted to win it, and this year we’ve wanted it the most,” said Verdugo, who had three goals and two steals. “Getting a ring (for our seniors) is so important.”
Newport Harbor’s 6-on-3 conversion loomed significant.
“It’s rare,” Orange Lutheran coach Brenda Villa said of a 6-on-3 opportunity. “But even with that, I felt that we still had our chances.”
“We missed a penalty,” the coach added. “We were there and we just couldn’t finish it.”
Newport Harbor went 2 for 9 on the power play and converted its lone penalty shot. Orange Lutheran went 5 for 8 with the extra attacker and 1 for 2 on penalty shots.
One of the Sailors’ main strategies was sending entry passes into center early in the shot clock to negate the Lancers’ ability to drop extra defenders.
Also in the Open Division:
Mater Dei 12, Oaks Christian 11: The host Monarchs (23-4) led 11-7 with about three minutes left in regulation and fell to a Lions team (21-7) they defeated 16-8 at the Newport Invite.
After regulation ended tied 11-11, Oaks Christian’s Nicole O’Neill scored the winner with 43 seconds left in the second three-minute OT.
Lions’ junior goalie Alex Stoddard blocked a penalty shot with five seconds left to seal the upset.
Junior Mia Fabros scored six goals to lead Oaks Christian while sophomore Makena Bygrave added five.
Kirra Pantaleon scored three goals for Mater Dei, which led 8-4 going into the fourth quarter.
In other CIF-SS semifinals on Tuesday:
In Division 1:
San Clemente 11, Alta Loma 7: Phoebe DeMoss scored nine goals on nine shots and had four steals to lead the Tritons (22-8) at Capistrano Valley High. Macey Punak added five assists for San Clemente, which plays Laguna Beach in the final Saturday at Mt. SAC.
Laguna Beach 6, Dos Pueblos 2: Siena Jumani made 13 saves and scored a goal to lead the Breakers (19-11) at El Toro High. Kara Carver added six steals to help anchor Laguna Beach’s defense.
In Division 2:
Downey 12, El Toro 7: The top-seeded Chargers (22-9) fell at Downey, which plays Murrieta Valley in the finals.
In Division 4:
Troy 13, Yucaipa 11 (OT): Juniors Sydney Bergerson and Hannah Reid, and sophomore Ava Ploesell, scored in overtime as the host Warriors advanced to a second straight final. Troy (16-12) will play San Dimas in the final Saturday at Mt. SAC.
In Division 5:
El Dorado 4, Fullerton 3: The host and top-seeded Golden Hawks (16-12) reached their first section final since 2002. El Dorado will play Santa Paula in the finals Saturday at Mt. SAC.
In Division 6:
Anaheim 10, La Quinta of La Quinta 9: Goalie Emily Maldonado block a shot in the final seconds and Hannah Grubbs had four goals and four steals as the visiting Colonists (11-10) beat the No. 1 seed to reach their section final. Anaheim plays Nordhoff in the final Saturday at Mt. SAC.
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