The Costa Mesa girls’ water polo team is still looking for its first set of back-to-back wins of the season, but there was one streak the Mustangs were happy to keep alive on Wednesday.
Sophomore center Violet Carlton had five goals and two steals to lead the host Mustangs to a 7-5 win over the Eagles in a nonleague game on Wednesday afternoon.
Costa Mesa (3-6) continued a prolonged streak of success in the crosstown series with Estancia (5-3).
Costa Mesa’s Martha Martin (10) fires in a goal against Estancia on Wednesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
“I think a lot of that is just like tradition,” said Carlton, who added that she and her teammates had not lost to Estancia during their careers. “I think that it just gives us an excitement and school spirit, and it just makes us want to win.”
Costa Mesa, which is under the tutelage of a new coach in Sarah Barker, had one of its closer calls against Estancia. The Mustangs had outscored the Eagles 41-6 across the previous two meetings.
Defense is the calling card for Barker, a 2018 graduate of Newport Harbor who went on to play for Long Beach State. After being shut out in the first quarter, the Mustangs rebounded to take a 4-1 lead heading into halftime.
Estancia’s Veronica Kehoe (10) shoots and scores over Costa Mesa’s Violet Carlton (7) on Wednesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Veronica Kehoe’s power-play goal on a six-on-four advantage cut the Eagles’ deficit to 4-3, but the Mustangs never allowed them to draw even.
“Our biggest thing right now is learning to control the ball on offense because when you’re a new player, it’s very exciting and you can get tunnel vision,” Barker said. “They’re really learning how to control the ball and keep it from just going back and forth and making it like a swim meet.”
When Costa Mesa did get into a defensive set, its physicality made it difficult to move the ball around for open shots. Senior center Sophia Winters had five steals and a field block. Sophomore goalkeeper Harper Alexander contributed six saves and four steals, and freshman utility player Hadleigh Juelfs had two steals.
Costa Mesa’s Sophia Winters (11) scores on a penalty shot against Estancia in the Battle for the Bell girls’ water polo game.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
“I can’t even count the amount of steals she has on defense, just from the few games we’ve had,” Barker said of Winters. “She has really long arms, and she’s very athletic, and I think even all her teammates know that if the ball goes in, there’s a really high chance she’s going to get it, and if she doesn’t, Harper knows that they’re going to have to shoot through Winters.”
Senior attacker Martha Martin and Winters each had one goal for Costa Mesa, which will compete in the Empire League this season.
Junior Nataly Andriashvili scored a hat-trick to go with four steals and a field block to lead Estancia, which is now a member of the Grove League.
Estancia’s Nataly Andriashvili (7) shoots and scores past Costa Mesa’s Mia Walker (4) on Wednesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Senior Quetzali Gonzalez had a goal and two steals, and junior goalkeeper Melissa Cruz made 10 saves for Estancia.
“We had a couple nail-biter moments, for sure, that I wish would have gone in our favor,” Estancia coach Olivia Schwartz said. “Unfortunately, they didn’t, but I think next year, we have a very good setup, and we can project ourselves up to a higher level of play and a smarter level of play, as well, once we get more experience under our belts.”
Costa Mesa goalie Harper Alexander makes a save during the Battle for the Bell girls’ water polo game against Estancia on Wednesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)