Santa Barbara High's Rocio Fesembeck, left, led the Dons in scoring with four goals. (Peter Trabucco Photos)
Kelsey O'Brien was a playmaker on Thursday, scoring twice and recording five assists.
Santa Barbara High’s girls water polo team managed to fend off Mater Dei on Thursday, settling for a 12-11 victory after being outscored in the fourth quarter.
The Dons, ranked No. 4 in CIF-ss Division I, took an 11-8 lead into the final period and scored the quarter’s first goal to take a 12-8 lead. But the Monarchs, ranked No. 1 in Division II, scored three straight in a 3-minute span to make it 12-11 with two minutes remaining.
“We were able to get them offf the board in the final two minutes,” said Dons head coach Mark Walsh, whose team begins competition at the annual Holiday Cup on Friday.
Sophie Trabucco led Santa Barbara in scoring with four goals and Rocio Fesembeck added a hat trick. Kelsey O’Brien had a balanced but solid match with two goals, five assists and three drawn ejections.
Santa Barbara will play two games on Friday at the Holiday Cup, starting with Beckman.
