The defense never rested for the Corona del Mar girls water polo team, and Santa Barbara suffered for it.
The Sea Queens kept the Dons away from the goal and pulled off a 10-5 victory in a CIF Division 1 quarterfinal game on Friday at Corona del Mar.
“Their defense was a lot better than ours,” Santa Barbara coach Mark Walsh said. “They forced us into a lot of outside shots. They had a lot of shots out of two meters and out of the counterattack.”
The Dons attempted 17 shots from the perimeter and scored on just two.
“We’re not a strong enough outside shooting team at this point,” Walsh said.
The game was close early. Corona del Mar led 1-0 in the first period on a breakaway goal and scored consecutive goals to lead 3-0 in the second period before Charlotte Hendrix got the Dons on the board.
The turning point came in the last minute of the period when the Sea Queens scored consecutive goals on a power play and counterattack, and Santa Barbara couldn’t answer.
“Instead of being down two, all of sudden we were down by four,” said Walsh.
Santa Barbara got to within three and pulled goalkeeper Maddie Trabucco with the hopes of getting a steal. But Corona del Mar scored and Walsh emptied his bench.
“A lot of things didn’t go our way,” Walsh said. “They kind of took it to us.”
Charlotte Hendrix scored two goals to lead the Dons. Makenzy Fowler, Betsy Hendrix and Sophie Trabucco each had one goal.
Ally McCormick, Diana Murphy and Cassidy Papa each scored three goals to lead Corona del Mar, which will play Foothill in the semifinals. Foothill upset second-seeded Los Alamitos.
Santa Barbara had a good season, going 20-9. The Dons reached the final of the Tournament of Champions and took No. 1 and undefeated Dos Pueblos to sudden death overtime.
“We definitely had some good moments this year,” said Walsh.
