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NEWPORT BEACH — With gratitude in its heart and focus on its mind, Newport Harbor’s top-ranked boys water polo team executed in the fourth period to defend its South Coast Tournament title in its renovated pool on Saturday.
Dash D’Ambrosia scored the first three goals of the fourth and goalie Connor Clougherty finished with 10 saves as the Sailors beat rising Cathedral Catholic 12-7 in the championship at the newly-named Bill Barnett Pool.
Top-seeded Newport Harbor (11-0) led No. 2 Cathedral Catholic 8-7 going into the fourth period.
The Sailors lost U.S. national team member Connor Ohl to foul trouble in the middle of the third but showed poise on both ends of the pools in the fourth against the Dons (6-2), who reached their first South Coast final.
“A really focused group,” Newport Harbor coach Ross Sinclair said of his squad, which extended its regular-season winning streak to 43 matches. “We’re just happy to have a pool and a home pool to play in.”
“We want make every game that we play here (an opportunity that we) … don’t take it for granted,” the 11th-year coach added. “I told them that there is three classes in the history of this program that got the opportunity to open up the season in a new pool.”
Last season, Newport Harbor dubbed itself the “Road Warriors.” The team played the entire fall on the road during the pool renovations. The Sailors captured the CIF-SS Open Division title.
D’Ambrosia’s biggest moment arrived coming out a timeout with 2:30 left in regulation.
With the Sailors leading 9-7 and on the power play following an exclusion drawn by center GeoffSlutzky, the senior attacker scored his second straight extra-man goal of the period to help seal the triumph.
“It was huge,” Sinclair said of D’Ambrosia’s play in the fourth. “He’s just continuing to improve.”
D’Ambrosia and Slutzky led Newport Harbor with three goals apiece.
Slutzky, a senior committed to Harvard, drew six exclusions to spark a power play that went 6 for 10. He also added two field blocks.
Clougherty, a senior who recently committed to Santa Clara, had two saves and a steal in the fourth period as the Sailors blanked the Dons.
He also scored a late, empty-net goal on a length-of-the-pool shot after Cathedral Catholic attempted a 7-on-6 attack.
Ohl dished out three assists before fouling with 4:33 left in the third.
Kai Kaneko, another U.S. national team player, scored two goals off the bench for Newport Harbor, ranked No. 1 in Orange County.
Clougherty made two saves against the Cathedral Catholic power play, which finished 1 for 7.
In the semifinals, Newport Harbor beat No. 5 seed Sacred Heart Prep of Atherton 12-7.
Cathedral Catholic edged No. 6 Oaks Christian 11-10 in the semifinals to reach its first South Coast final. The Dons lost to Newport Harbor 11-8 earlier in the season.
Sophomore Diego Dantas scored twice off the bench to lead Cathedral Catholic.
“Hopefully (we play Newport Harbor) a lot more this year,” said Cathedral Catholic junior Jett Taylor, who made his U.S. national team debut in June. “It’s a good opportunity to test where we are and see how we’re doing at the time. It’s always going to be a good game. It’s always going to be close.”
“I know it will take a lot for us to get through them,” added Taylor, whose father Aaron played football at Notre Dame and in the NFL.
The teams could collide at the Elite 8 tournament in early October at Harvard-Westlake.