By Maddy Braybrooke
Staff Writer
For the first time in history, the Mira Costa High School girls water polo team advanced to the California Interscholastic Federation finals, where the Mustangs fought Los Osos for the Division III title on March 1 at the William Woolett Aquatic Center in Irvine.
The Mustangs nearly pulled off a game winning play in the last six seconds of their final game. Senior goalie Katy Heatherton took a last-second shot that just narrowly missed the goal, and Los Osos got away with a 7-6 win. Los Osos was ahead, 4-2, in the beginning of the period, and then went on a scoring streak, making the score 7-3.
“Throughout this entire season, we kept playing and working, whether we were losing or if it was close,” junior point Kelly Giery said. “We weren’t going to let the score phase us.”
In the last three minutes of play, Costa woke up, and senior whole set Jordan Raney, Giery and sophomore driver Kaylee Brownsberger all scored, but in the end, it was not enough.
“We never gave up, making an amazing comeback in the fourth,” senior perimeter Taylin Kamimoto said. “It may not have been our best game, but it’s one we should be proud of.”
To get to the CIF finals, the Mustangs defeated Upland High School, 11-10, on Feb. 26 by holding off two last-second shots. Los Osos won its spot in the finals on Feb. 26 by defeating Arroyo Grande, 8-5, and was the top seed with a 24-9 record.
“Los Osos had a great game,” Giery said. “They’re a good team, and they’ve been in the finals before.”
Even though the girls did not win the CIF title, they were undefeated in Bay League. They beat Redondo twice, beating them 15-4 and 13-4. The girls also proved their abilities when they shut down Capo Valley High School, 12-0, and outplayed West Torrance High School with a final score of 20-2.This was also the first Costa girls water polo team to make it to the CIF semifinals since 2006.
“We stepped up our training and conditioning this year,” senior perimeter Piper Asten said. “We took it to a whole new level, and it showed when we played.”
Costa ended its season seeded number two in CIF, with an overall record of 24-8. The girls went undefeated in Bay League with a record of 4-0.
“This has been the most successful season for Costa,” Giery said. “Even though we didn’t win, we ended on a good note, earned our place in history and had an amazing experience.”
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