Orange Lutheran girls water polo team finds another gear against Long Beach Wilson in Open Division pool-play victory; Mater Dei also wins

ORANGE – Four first-quarter goals by Allison Cohen, including a pair of 5-meter penalty shots, weren’t enough for Orange Lutheran to deliver an early knockout punch Wednesday night against Long Beach Wilson in their CIF-Southern Section Open Division girls water polo showdown.

So, the Lancers decided to unleash their entire offensive attack in the second quarter, taking advantage of drawing four exclusions to score five consecutive goals in less than five minutes to seize momentum, and second-seeded Orange Lutheran never relinquished control in a 16-8 pool-play victory at Santiago Canyon College.

Jailynn Robinson scored twice, with Estelle Karaba, Michelle Urkov and Cohen adding goals during the second quarter, contributing to a 9-3 halftime advantage for the Lancers (23-3), the two-time Open Division champions.

Reece Haga scored twice and CiCi DeLuca contributed a goal in the opening quarter for the Bruins (19-9), who endured a scoreless drought of more than nine minutes combined in the second and third, as Orange Lutheran produced six unanswered goals overall, with Urkov extending the lead to 10-3 early in the second half.

Iris Hiskey, Katherine O’Dea and Haga all scored in the third quarter for Long Beach Wilson, but the Bruins never got closer than six the rest of the way, with Karaba, Robinson and Urkov also contributing goals for the Lancers.

Cali Craft scored early in the fourth quarter for Orange Lutheran, which received 16 saves from Kyla Pranajaya.

After neither team added to their total for more than four minutes, each lineup scored twice in the final 75 seconds of the contest, with DeLuca and O’Dea adding goals for Long Beach Wilson, in addition to Grace Anderson and Robinson contributing to the final margin for the Lancers.

It marked the second time this season Orange Lutheran secured victory this season against the Bruins, including an 11-4 triumph Jan. 10 at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.

The Lancers square off at 7 p.m. Tuesday against third-seeded Newport Harbor (23-5) – a 10-7 pool-play winner Wednesday against Santa Ana Foothill – at Orange Coast College, with the winner advancing to the Open Division final Feb. 22 at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

Orange Lutheran earned a pair of tournament victories during the regular season against Newport Harbor and has prevailed in the past five matchups with the Sailors, including twice in the postseason last year.

Mater Dei 15, San Marcos 8: Junior Kirra Pantaleon and sophomore Maggie Ryan both scored five goals apiece for the top-seeded Monarchs (23-3) in their Open Division pool-play victory against No. 5 San Marcos (23-10).

Delaney Hook and EJ Hourigan each scored twice for Mater Dei, which rebounded from a 10-8 setback Dec. 7 against the Royals to win the final four matchups this season against San Marcos.

Mater Dei girls water polo team | Erik Boal photo

Sienna Sorensen had eight saves for the Monarchs, who will play host at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to No. 4 Oaks Christian (20-7) – an 11-9 pool-play winner Wednesday against No. 8 Corona del Mar – with the winner moving on to compete in the section championship Feb. 22 at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

Sorensen has recorded 19 saves in two postseason matches, with Pantaleon accumulating 10 goals for Mater Dei, which is seeking its second straight appearance in an Open Division final and the program’s first title.