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Newport Harbor’s undefeated boys water polo team sinks Harvard-Westlake to capture Elite 8

October 6, 2024

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STUDIO CITY — Newport Harbor’s boys water polo team isn’t losing sight of the finer points as it continues to rack up goals and victories at an impressive pace.

The Sailors showed their situational execution on Saturday night in defeating host Harvard-Westlake 16-7 in the finals of the Elite 8 tournament to improve to 19-0.

In the finals seconds of first period, No. 1 Newport Harbor coolly pulled goalie Luke Harris for a 7-on-6 player advantage on an after-goal play.

With 15 seconds left, the Sailors placed a spare goalie cap on attacker Weston Hartel and had him join a possession that ended with left-hander James Mulvey scoring off an assist from left-hander Mason Netzer for a 5-3 lead with one second on the clock.

Harris quickly re-entered after the goal and closed the frame with a save.

Newport Harbor then scored eight unanswered goals to put away the Wolverines, who dethroned reigning tournament champion JSerra 11-10 in the semifinals.

The Sailors outscored Harvard-Westlake 6-0 with a sizzling second-period performance but their execution at the end of the first stood out. The rule that allows a goalie to join the attack has only existed about three years but coach Ross Sinclair’s team made it seem like a common play.

“It’s the first time we scored this season on it,” Sinclair said with a chuckle. “(It’s) ‘Hey, seven-on-six, let’s go.’ … We practice it.”

The play seemed to typify Newport Harbor’s approach to a season in which it is increasingly being viewed as a heavy favorite for the CIF-SS Open Division title. The Sailors won the South Coast Tournament last month.

“There’s always more work — that’s kind of our thing,” said Newport Harbor junior attacker Kai Kaneko, who scored two of his three goals in the second period. “The details.”

Newport Harbor also used the tournament to insert its sitout transfers — Mulvey (JSerra) and Santino Rossi (Mater Dei) — to its rotations.

Mulvey shined in the second period with a goal and assist. Rossi added a goal from center in the frame in which he emerged from below to the surface to beat three crashing players.

“I’ve felt acclimated from Day 1,” Mulvey said of his transition at Newport Harbor.

Mulvey helped cap the second period by tossing a cross pass to Lucca Van Der Woude for a power-play strike and 11-3 lead.

Harvard-Westlake notched its first victory against JSerra under third-year coach Jack Grover but dropped its fourth match to Newport Harbor this fall and eighth straight overall.

Harris played a key role in Harvard-Westlake struggling with the extra attacker. The USC committed senior made six of his nine saves against the power play.

Jack Shapiro snapped a 9-0 run by Newport Harbor with a power-play goal with 2:48 left in the third.

“It’s promising,” Grover said of the Wolverines’ runner-up finish. “This Newport team is really, really strong. What they do really well is any time you make a mistake, they capitalize.”

“You can’t deny at all that they are a very-well coached team,” he added. “It’s one thing to get transfers. … but it’s a whole another thing to actually coach them and incorporate them in your system.”

Newport Harbor beat Oaks Christian 13-5 in the semifinals.

In the third-place match:

JSerra 13, Oaks Christian 9: Taylor Bell scored five goals to lead the Lions, who led 9-5 going in the fourth period.

In roster news, strong-shooting sophomore Porter Birdsall is no longer with JSerra, coach Brett Ormsby confirmed.

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Orange County Register

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Newport Harbor’s undefeated boys water polo team sinks Harvard-Westlake to capture Elite 8

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