Newport Harbor knew that in order to get a third CIF-Southern Section Open Division boys water polo title, the biggest challenge for the Sailors would be to overcome reigning champion JSerra.
Although Newport Harbor had won its first 30 matches in overwhelming and dominant fashion, in order to secure a 31st consecutive victory, the Sailors had to conquer the last team in the section to produce a 30-0 record.
Despite producing a pair of lopsided victories in tournament finals during the regular season, top-seeded Newport Harbor found itself trailing No. 2 JSerra at halftime Saturday in the Open Division final at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.
But Lucca Van Der Woude produced three goals in the fourth quarter, including the deciding score with 54 seconds remaining to help Newport Harbor rally for an 11-10 victory and a 15th section championship in program history.
The Sailors also edged JSerra by a 10-9 margin in the 2022 Open Division final and captured the inaugural Open Division championship in 2021 with a 12-7 victory against Huntington Beach.
Newport Harbor suffered a 16-10 loss to JSerra in last year’s Southern Section Open Division final, in addition to a 14-10 setback in the Southern California Division 1 regional championship that capped the Lions’ remarkable 30-0 season.
But the Sailors (31-0) rebounded this fall with three victories against JSerra (26-4), including a 14-6 triumph to capture the South Coast Tournament title Sept. 14 at Corona del Mar High – snapping the Lions’ 40-match winning streak – and a 16-7 win to secure the North vs. South Challenge crown Oct. 19 at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton.
Newport Harbor boys water polo | Photo courtesy of Newport Harbor
But the Lions challenged Newport Harbor from the outset Saturday, building a 3-1 first-quarter lead.
Connor Colman, Tyler Anderson and Taylor Bell each scored three goals for JSerra, which increased its advantage to 8-5 at halftime.
JSerra still held a 9-8 lead entering the fourth quarter, with Jonas Ransford recording seven saves, before the Sailors’ defense rose to the occasion to spark the comeback.
Luke Harris had eight saves for the Sailors, who held JSerra scoreless for the final 4:56 after the Lions became the first opponent to score 10 goals against Newport Harbor this season.
Van Der Woude, a Harvard-Westlake transfer, tied the score at 10-10 with 2:03 left and delivered his match-high fourth goal to give the Sailors their first lead since the opening quarter.
Kai Kaneko and Dash D’Ambrosia both scored twice, with Mason Netzer, Connor Ohl and Weston Hartel all contributing goals for Newport Harbor, which became only the third school in Southern Section history to produce a 31-0 record.
Long Beach Wilson was the first to achieve the feat in 2002, with Mater Dei accomplishing the goal in consecutive years in 2011-12 as part of a state-record 103-match winning streak from 2010-13.
Newport Harbor also completed unbeaten seasons in 1975 by producing a 24-0 mark and again in 1978 by achieving a 27-0 record.
The Sailors could become the first Southern Section program to win 32 consecutive matches to open the season with a victory Tuesday against Westlake (24-6), as Newport Harbor is the top seed in the Southern California Regional Division 1 playoffs and will play again at Corona del Mar High, since its home pool has been under construction the entire season.
JSerra earned the No. 2 seed and will square off Tuesday against No. 7 The Bishop’s School from La Jolla (15-11).
Cathedral Catholic (23-6), the No. 4 seed and San Diego Section Open Division champion, plays host Tuesday to No. 5 Corona del Mar (25-6).
Oaks Christian (20-9) earned the No. 3 seed and matches up Tuesday against No. 6 La Jolla (22-8).
The regional semifinals are scheduled for Thursday and Newport Harbor and JSerra could clash for a fourth time Nov. 23 in the regional final.