Girls Water Polo (24-2, 4-0) League Champions
Laguna easily swept the opposition in winning the 32-team Southern California Championships tournament for the third straight year. The Breakers outscored their opponents 71-14 in the five matches played at the Woollett Center on the Irvine High School campus Feb. 4-6.
The regular season concluded this past week and CIF playoffs will begin next week. Laguna is looking for their third straight Division 1 title as CIF’s top team in the sport.
Breakers captured their tenth straight league title with another blowout, 24-3 on Monday, Feb. 8 at Saddleback. Nine different players scored at-least two goals with Angelique Begay leading the team with five goals while Bella Baldridge had six assists. Breakers have won 40 straight league games dating back to 2006.
Breakers led 12-3 after one period against Estancia on Wednesday, Feb. 3, scoring on every possession in the initial quarter. Twelve different players scored for the Breakers who utilized a slowdown tactic to keep the 23-4 score from being more lopsided.
In tournament games, Breakers had no problems crushing the D-6 squad from Lompoc 19-1 to open tournament play Thursday, Feb. 4. Sophie Leggett scored the first of her four goals seconds into the contest. Bella Baldridge also scored four against the Conquistadores.
The same day Laguna defeated Arroyo Grande 18-1. Sophia Lucas and Natalie Selin each scored in less than one minute into the contest taking passes from Bella Baldridge for the points. Selin led all scorers in this match with five goals while Baldridge added four.
On Friday, Feb. 5, Laguna sank Murrieta Valley 13-5. Laguna established control of the match in the initial period closing with two quick goals by Bella Baldridge and Natalie Selin, both of which led the team again in scoring with four goals each. In the semi-final match, Laguna beat Dos Pueblos 10-4, the team that ended their long win streak. The opening sprint by Bella Baldridge and first goal by Natalie Selin took only 15 seconds off the clock. Holly Parker was stellar in the cage with 11 saves and the Breakers defense frustrated the Chargers all day. Evan Tingler had three goals while Sophia Lucas fired two to surprise the opponent expecting Laguna’s top shooters to provide the offense.
In the final on Saturday, Feb. 6, Laguna took San Marcos 11-3. Laguna controlled the contest early as Sophie Leggett scored on a power play for the initial goal of the game. Breakers built their lead to 3-0 in the period off a score by Sophia Lucas and a Natalie Selin score from a Baldridge pass in another opportunity. Breakers were up 5-0 in the second period before the Royals finally scored on a difficult-to-stop skip shot. San Marcos was down 8-1 before they found the cage again in the closing seconds of the third period, scoring twice. Holly Parker had 11 saves in the contest while Thea Walsh recorded two saves in the final period. Breakers had defeated the # 3 ranked school 10-3 back on Jan. 16 in their only other meeting this season.
SSCIF D-1 Poll for (2-8): 1 – Laguna Beach, 2 – Orange Lutheran, 3 – San Marcos, 4 – Dos Pueblos, 5 – Foothill, 6 – Corona del Mar, 7 – Mater Dei, 8 – Santa Barbara, 9 – Santa Margarita, 10 – Newport Harbor, others: Los Alamitos, Huntington Beach
Statistical Leaders after 26 games:
Goals: 67 – Sophie Leggett, 64 – Bella Baldridge, 54 – Natalie Selin
Assists: 63 – Bella Baldridge, 39 – Haley Evans, 34 – Evan Tingler
Steals: 40 – Bella Baldridge, 31 – Sophie Leggett, 26 – Sophia Lucas, Ally Jochim
Saves: Parker 178, Walsh 85
