Girls Water Polo Starts New Year Undefeated
Breakers took care of business to open the new year defeating Foothill 8-6 on Jan. 4 at the Knights’ pool. Foothill scored first on a power play, but the Breakers quickly countered with a score by Tea Poljak off a pass from Clair Kelly. A goal at the 1:17 mark by Rachael Carver put Laguna in the lead for good and Laguna led 4-2 after one period and later 6-2 at the intermission. By the time Foothill was scoring near the end of the game, Breakers were up 8-3 and clearing the bench. Laguna leads the all-time series 19-12. On Tuesday, Jan. 8, the Breakers defeated Newport Harbor 11-7 to open Sunset Surf League play at the Corona del Mar pool. Breakers had little trouble with the Tars leading the entire contest. Grace Houlahan and Nicole Struss each scored three goals for Laguna.
Breakers may see Newport again this weekend in the 20th annual Santa Barbara TOC. Breakers missed the tournament last season when the rains forced a re-scheduling of the event and Breakers were unable to attend. Laguna won the tournament in 2014, 2015 and 2017, winning 15 of the last 16 tournament games played in the Channel cities.
Next week a big streak is on the line when Laguna travels to Corona del Mar on Jan. 17. Breakers have won 49 consecutive league games and 12 consecutive league titles, but Corona del Mar is on a 118-league match win streak of their own and have won 19 consecutive league titles. Both squads must win on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at the Newport pool to keep the streaks alive for the showdown as the Breakers will face Los Alamitos (6-6) and the Sea Queens play Newport Harbor. Admission is charged for the Sunset League doubleheaders.
Boys Basketball (7-13)
Laguna dropped both non-league cross-over games with the Sunset Surf League, losing 63-54 at Los Alamitos on Jan. 4 and dropping a 62-42 contest to red-hot Newport Harbor (20-1) on Jan. 9 in Dugger Gym. Against the Griffins, Breakers trailed 42-40 entering the final period but faded in the final quarter. Nolan Naess was held to 17 points in that game, while Lucas Kravitz scored 18 and Brooks Hogenauer added 16. Breakers begin the Sunset Wave league play on Jan. 11 with Fountain Valley (7-14). Breakers must finish first or second in league play to earn a playoff spot and avoid missing the post season for the first time since 2006. Marina (11-10) appears to be the favorite, while Huntington Beach (8-14) will be battling Laguna and Fountain Valley for second place.
Girls Basketball (15-5)
As expected, the Breakers were no match for D1 Los Alamitos (16-5), dropping the non-league game at the Griffin campus 72-15 on Jan. 8. Back on Jan. 4, Laguna played Calvary Chapel/Santa Ana in a non-league game blasting the Eagles 52-23. Breakers opened the Sunset Wave league play on Jan. 10 with Newport Harbor and hope to surprise a few teams in the league race to help secure a post-season bid.
Boys Soccer (3-4-3)
Breakers dropped both non-league matches to start the new year, losing 2-1 to both Los Alamitos (9-6-3) and Newport Harbor (8-8-2). Wave league teams are Fountain Valley (10-4), Huntington Beach (4-12-3) and Marina (4-9-2), so Laguna should be competitive in the race for a playoff spot.
Girls Soccer (2-8-3)
The squad could not hold off Huntington Beach on Jan. 3 as a late Oiler score tied the contest at 3-3. On Jan. 8, Laguna was blasted by D1 Los Alamitos 6-0.
The first Wave League match is Jan. 10 at Newport Harbor (11-2-5), followed by matches with Fountain Valley (6-6-3) and Marina (6-6-5). The league race will be very competitive and challenging for Laguna.
