PHOTOS: Woodbridge rallies but falls to Bonita in CIF Division 3 championship match

Woodbridge players and coaches along with Principal Christopher Krebs (right) and Athletic Director Brian Walsh (top left) accepted the runner-up trophy. (Photos: OC Sports Zone, Tim Burt).

Woodbridge High School’s girls water polo team made a late push but came up short Saturday morning, losing to Bonita 8-6 in the CIF Division 3 championship at the Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine.

Second-seeded Woodbridge (20-5) was playing in its first title match. It was the second CIF title for Bonita.

Bonita led 7-2 after three quarters and 8-2 at the start of the fourth quarter before Woodbridge made a run with four consecutive goals, three by Lindsay Cheung and one by Allly Whyte. But Bonita was able to hold on for the victory, played in front of a big crowd consisting of Bonita and Woodbridge fans.

“It was an amazing fourth quarter, they made a great push and they proved they deserved to be here and they finished well,” said Woodbridge Coach Alexandra Farraro.

To see the slide show, click on the first photo:

Cheung was the game-high scorer with five goals.

Bonita (24-5) was led by Hailee Heaton, Tori Carlson and Katie Hager, who had two goals each.

The title was emotional for Bonita Coach Olga Quiroz, who used to play at Bonita.

“I think I’m still in shock to be very honest, I was here in 2009 with my coach and my team and to be a player who has done this once is already beyond my wildest dreams and to do this again with my team and my alumni is a dream,” Quiroz said. “I feel like I’m dreaming right now. I’ve been a part of both on different sides, this is the second one since 2009.”

Bonita was able to take control by outscoring Woodbridge 4-1 in the third quarter.

“Our girls are really good at adjusting,” the coach said. “We had a 45 minute drive, we got here early but we took our really long warm-up like we took it seriously. We really wanted this today.”

“We got surprised, we were caught sleeping,” said Farraro of the third quarter. “But it was a fantastic effort. They’ve been here many, many times in the history of their program, we’ve never been here before. This is a big growth spurt for our juniors and freshmen who have never been in a high level game. I’m really proud of how they all handled themselves throughout the entire playoff.”

Woodbridge had many chances early on to score but was able to make just one of six shots on the 6-on-5 plays.

Bonita is headed to the state tournament and Farraro indicated there is a chance Woodbridge could advance as well.

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com