By Maddy Braybrooke
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa High School girls water polo team defeated Upland High School in the semifinals of the California Interscholastic Federation playoffs on Wednesday with a nail-biting 11-10 victory, advancing to the CIF finals for the first time in history.
The CIF championship game is tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the Irvine Wollet Center, where Costa will face off against Los Osos High School for the ring.
To start the semifinal match, Upland sophomore wing perimeter Yen Nguyen won the beginning sprint. The Highlanders struck first when a shot from wing perimeter Teagan Hamel hit the back of the net in the bottom right corner. The Mustangs adjusted with senior whole set Jordan Raney scoring a goal off of an assist from junior flat perimeter Isabella Magno, tying the score at 1-1.
Upland followed with another score, but Costa won possession when sophomore driver Kaylee Brownsberger stole the ball from Upland perimeter Evan Lozano. Magno received the ball and assisted a goal to junior point Kelly Giery, whose shot hit the post and floated across the goal line.
“I was nervous in the first period,” senior goalie Katy Heatherton said. “The whole team was nervous, but the game isn’t over until we hear the buzzer. We had to continue to play hard all the way through the game.”
With the second period underway, Giery passed the ball to Brownsberger who put Costa in the lead by scoring off of a lob shot. The Highlanders’ point Ashley Paz followed with two more goals, making the score 4-3, Upland.
After fighting off a few Highlander defenders, Giery took a shot that skipped an inch off the inside of the post. Shortly after, Costa won possession again, and Brownsberger scored the Mustangs’ fourth goal, tying up the score. Giery ended the first half with a goal, her second of the game, placing Costa in the lead by one.
“Costa has a good team,” Upland coach Emerson Gant said. “They have two really talented girls that we were focused on, but both teams stepped up and came in at good times.”
In the third period, after a save by Heatherton, Hamel fought for the ball and ended up tying the score for Upland. The Mustangs pushed ahead when sophomore wing perimeter Cami Ruiz and Giery contributed two more goals each, making the score 7-5.
“Throughout the game I just kept thinking that we needed to keep our heads up and keep playing,” Giery said. “The other team played well, but we stuck to our game plan because we weren’t going to let all our hard work go to waste.”
Magno took the opportunity to score Costa’s eighth goal in the final period. Upland came back with a goal by Harris, who tapped the ball into the net. Then, Upland flat perimeter Sydney Scott scored a goal to make the score 8-7. Costa remained in the lead with three more goals came from Brownsberger, Giery and Ruiz.
Later, with a minute and a half remaining, Scott scored a goal for Upland. When Costa won possession back, they threw a lob into the far corner to waste time off the clock. But Upland grabbed the ball with speed, and Scott scored twice more. Uplands’ effort were not enough for a victory, making the final score 11-10 in favor of the Mustangs.
“Upland played very well,” coach Jon Reichardt said. “Both teams never gave up, but Upland had two or three runs and every time they made a run. Both teams put in a lot of energy, but we definitely earned the win.”
Leave a Reply