Sports
Harvard Westlake Easily Eliminates Trabuco Hills From Water Polo Playoffs
The best season in school history ends with 20-8 loss to top-seeded Harvard Westlake, but even a 42-minute rain delay doesn't dampen the spirits of the Mustangs.
The Trabuco Hills girl’s water polo team had its most successful season in school history, finishing second in the Sea View League and winning its first CIF playoff match this week. But even the most experienced teams with some of the most talented players would find it difficult matching up to Harvard Westlake this season.
The top-seeded Wolverines lost in the quarterfinals last season, but they didn’t let that disappointment bother them on Saturday as they bolted to an 8-1 lead and never looked back to overwhelm the Mustangs, 20-8, and advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 4 semifinals, where they will meet Upland on Wednesday.
“They are pretty tough,” Mustangs coach Sean McMahon said of Harvard Westlake. “My goal coming in was to just show up and play the best we could. Sometimes we executed and sometimes we didn’t, but I can’t complain about how hard we played.”
Find out what's happening in Mission Viejowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Harvard Westlake (25-2), which has only nine players on its roster, was virtually unstoppable at times, particularly after the first quarter when they committed only two turnovers. In fact, the only thing to stop the Wolverines from scoring was a lightning storm that hit the area with 2:57 left in the second quarter, forcing everyone in and out of the pool to seek refuge. The delay lasted 42 minutes.
After play resumed, Harvard Westlake scored twice more to lead 10-2 at halftime.
Find out what's happening in Mission Viejowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Trabuco Hills (18-11) had difficulty in the first half sustaining any type of offensive flow, turning the ball over 16 times, but the second half was a different story. The Mustangs cut their turnovers in half and actually won the fourth quarter, 4-3, even though the Wolverines had all their starters in the match (they had only two reserves).
MacKenzie Bender scored her second goal on a penalty shot, and Amy Burrola scored three consecutive goals for the Mustangs on assists from Kylie Manoula and Bender.
“Instead of quitting in the fourth quarter, the girls turned it up and played great. I’m really proud of that,” McMahon said. “This has been the most successful season our school has ever had. We had a great group of girls who finished second in league by winning two big games against No. 8 Mission Viejo and No. 7 Aliso Niguel in the final week.
"I think we met all our goals except one: I wanted to win two games in CIF. I set our goals high, but I’m pleased that we had a great season together.”
In the net, Kristen Lee finished with three saves for Harvard-Westlake and Jessie Vuozzo blocked six shots for Trabuco Hills.
The Wolverines were led in scoring by Ashley Grossman (five goals), Bella Gonzalez (four goals), Camille Hooks (three goals, three assists) Ariel Plaza (three goals) and Rose Richell (two goals). Grossman will be attending Stanford in the fall and Hooks recently signed with Princeton. Grossman and Hooks were both freshmen when the Wolverines lost in the Division 4 final in 2008.
