Newport Harbor boys water polo handles Harvard-Westlake to win second Elite 8 title in three years

There were a few moments during the annual Delfina Elite 8 boys water polo tournament when unbeaten Newport Harbor might have appeared inefficient, sluggish or lacking motivation.

Unfortunately for the rest of the field, especially host Harvard-Westlake, those occasions were few during the three-day event, and usually followed by stretches of relentless defensive pressure, exceptional execution in man-advantage situations and spectacular offensive surges.

Newport Harbor turned a competitive final following one quarter against the Wolverines into a lopsided affair by halftime, scoring six unanswered goals in the second, as the Sailors captured their second Elite 8 crown in three years with a 16-7 victory Saturday at the Copses Family Pool.

Kai Kaneko, a junior, was selected the tournament’s most outstanding player for the top-ranked Sailors (19-0), with he and senior James Mulvey combining for six goals in the championship.

Newport Harbor was making its fifth consecutive appearance in the Elite 8 final, including a 10-4 victory against JSerra to capture the 2022 title.

The Lions knocked off Newport Harbor 10-9 in overtime to capture last season’s Elite 8 championship, but the Sailors made certain there was little drama during the run to this year’s crown.

Harvard-Westlake (11-6) lost to Newport Harbor for the fourth time this season, including a 20-5 pool-play setback Friday against the Sailors.

The Wolverines, who won Elite 8 titles in 2016, 2018 and 2019, faced a two-goal deficit after the first quarter in the final, before Newport Harbor increased the advantage to 11-3 at halftime.

The Sailors extended the lead to 14-5 entering the fourth quarter, with senior goalkeeper Luke Harris anchoring a defense that allowed a combined 27 goals in five tournament matches.

Newport Harbor prevailed 13-5 against Oaks Christian in the semifinals, with Harvard-Westlake holding off last year’s winner JSerra by an 11-10 margin to advance to the championship.

JSerra (15-2) rebounded to produce a 13-9 victory Saturday against Oaks Christian to take third.

Newport Harbor faced its toughest challenge of the season in Friday’s 8-3 pool-play victory against reigning San Diego Section Open Division champion Cathedral Catholic.

The Sailors led 5-3 entering the fourth quarter and were held to their lowest scoring output of the season.

It was a significant defensive turnaround for Cathedral Catholic (12-4), which suffered a 20-19 overtime loss in pool play Thursday against Harvard-Westlake.

Newport Harbor squares off Oct. 12 at Cathedral Catholic, before both programs are scheduled to compete Oct. 18-19 in the North-South Challenge, hosted by Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton.

The Sailors will look to capture their third tournament title of the year, along with securing the South Coast championship Sept. 14 with a 14-6 victory against JSerra, snapping the Lions’ 40-match winning streak.