A season-opening game between two girls water polo juggernauts in the CIF-Southern Section went down to the wire Friday night at the Santa Barbara High pool.
Playing against five-time CIF champion Laguna Beach, San Marcos made a furious comeback from a four-goal deficit in the third quarter and tied the score with 2:29 left in the game. But Laguna Beach drew a penalty and Ava Knepper converted the 5-meter shot with 1:30 to go, giving the Breakers a 10-9 victory under the lights.
San Marcos had time to score an equalizer and improved its chances when Sophia Panossian drew an exclusion. On the power play, Panossian fired a shot on goal, but it was saved by Laguna Beach goalie Lauren Schneider with 48 seconds to go.
The Royals got an unfortunate break on Laguna Beach’s possession as a shot was tipped by goalie Elaia Hamlilton, which allowed the Breakers to retain possession with 28 seconds left. They ran out the clock to escape with the win.
“We’re frustrated with the loss, but we learned so much,” said San Marcos coach Chuckie Roth, who has had the Royals in the upper echelon of CIF girls water polo for several years and won a CIF title in 2018. “We’re going to get better. It’s a great process. These girls are all in and I’m all in. It’s going to be a great season.”
Freshman Charlotte Raisin, playing in the pool where her older sister (Grace) and brother (Chase) starred before moving on to NCAA Division 1 programs, led San Marcos in scoring in her first varsity game with three goals. They all came in the fourth period, when the Royals rallied from an 8-4 deficit to tie the score at 9-9.
“Freshman Charlotte Raisin stepped up big in that fourth period,” Roth said.
Seniors Ava Stryker and Panossian each had two goals.
Charlotte Riches and Ava Knepper each scored three goals for Laguna Beach, with Knepper delivering the eventual game winner on a penalty shot after Riches drew the major foul.
The game was fast-paced and tight in the first half. Stryker was fouled on a fast break and converted a penalty shot to give the Royals a 3-1 lead late in the first period.
Presley Jones scored on a power play at the end of the first period, and Lauren Short tied the score for the Breakers with 1:24 left in the second period on a power play.
Laguna Beach took a 4-3 lead as Knepper caught a cross-pool pass from Cleo Washer and fired a shot past Hamilton.
The Royals thought they tied the score at 4:59 of the third period, but the goal was taken away due to a mistake by the clock operator on a player exclusion. The officials noticed the error and, after a lengthy delay, nullified Stryker’s goal and put the clock back to 5:07.
San Marcos retained possession on the restart but missed a shot from distance.
Laguna Beach took charge of the game at that point, scoring three unanswered goals to go up 7-3.
“I’m not watching the clock in that situation, I’m watching the game,” Roth said. “(The officials) said the clock was late, that’s an uncontrollable situation for me.
“We shot a ball we shouldn’t have shot right out of (the delay). There were some learning opportunities there. It is what it is. We got to be better.”
The Royals played a lot better in the fourth period. Down 8-4, Panossian fired skip shot past Schneider and then Hamilton made consecutive blocks, the first one from point-blank range.
Raisin scored from distance to make it an 8-6 game and Laguna Beach called a time out with 5:11 left.
The Royals stole the ball out of the timeout but were unable to capitalize. They did on the Breakers’ next possession. Stryker made the steal and fed Raisin breaking on goal. With the goalie coming out, the freshman cooly lobbed the ball over Schneider to pull San Marcos within one, 8-7, with 3:48 to go.
“We went into a little rough patch,” said Roth of the third period. “I don’t think our defense was very good today, but then we worked ourselves out of it.”
Jordan Schneider scored for Laguna Beach to make it 9-7, but San Marcos answered on a penalty shot by Stryker at the 3:08 mark.
Stryker deflected a shot by Knepper and Raisin followed with a terrific goal inside the far post to knot the score at 9-9 with 2:29 left.
The San Marcos defense then came up big as Hamilton made a one-handed stop in goal and Panossian blocked a shot in the field.
But the Breakers got the ball to Roches in the set position and she drew a penalty that led to Knepper’s game-winning goal.
Roth said it was great for his team to open the season against a powerhouse program like Laguna Beach.
“If you want to be the best, you got to play the best, and I really appreciate Laguna Beach for coming up here,” he said. “They have a phenomenal program and do a great job. And it’s a treat for us to be able to have a game like that in town early in the season.
“It was a great test, and today they won, so we’ll see what we need to improve on. It was a great way to start your season.”