Beckman High School’s girls water polo team tried to battle back in the fourth quarter but lost to Alta Loma 7-6 in a CIF 2A semifinal match Wednesday evening at Beckman.
Beckman, the Pacific Coast League champion, was trying to secure the program’s first trip to the CIF finals.
Alta Loma (19-9) moves on to the finals Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College to face Sunny Hills. The Lancers (24-7) defeated Agoura 12-11 in sudden death overtime in the other semifinal.
Alta Loma moved out to a 7-4 lead with three minutes left in the match on a goal by Carly Berglans but Beckman rallied with goals by Angelina Abshier (her third of the match) and Brooke Knisley.
The Patriots (24-5) got the ball back for one final try with about a minute left, but Alta Loma forced a turnover and was able to run out the clock.
“They battled, they fought, a culmination of the whole season overall it was the second time we played Alta Loma this year,” said Beckman Coach Duje Grubisic. “First game we lost by one as well. But I think the girls came out really strong and surprised Alta Loma a little bit, I don’t think they expected that.”
Abshier’s goal tied the match 2-2 at halftime. Alta Loma, which had seven different players score goals, moved ahead 4-2 in the third quarter before the Patriots evened the match on goals by Haley Goodwin and Knisley.
“It was just little things like I told the girls, bad pass here, missed opportunity in front of the goal makes a huge difference in a match like this but I’m very proud of them, they had one of the best seasons in the history of the school in terms of record, there was a team that made it to semifinals earlier but this was a lot better game than that first semi,” Grubisic said.
The coach praised the effort of Abshier, a sophomore.
“It was a great game for her, she does a little bit of everything, one of her better games with three goals, and one assist and two ejections earned,” Grubisic said.
The Beckman coach believes the future is bright for the program.
“We have a very young team, so the majority are coming back for the next couple of years,” Grubisic said. “I’m really excited for what’s coming. It looks very bright.”
SEMIFINAL SCORES
Open Division
Orange Lutheran 7, Newport Harbor 6
Mater Dei 10, Foothill 5
Division 1
Corona del Mar 11, Dos Pueblos 7
JSerra 9, San Clemente 8
Division 2
Sunny Hills 12, Agoura 11 (OT)
Alta Loma 7, Beckman 6
Division 3
Centennial Corona 11, Buena Park 5
Division 4
Northwood 10, Santiago 9
Rosary Academy 17, Los Osos 6
Division 5
Troy 10, Malibu 6
Division 6
El Modena 13, La Quinta 8
Indio 14, Anaheim 13
Finals will be Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College, times to be announced Thursday.
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
More Stories
Alta Loma takes control early against Sunny Hills and captures CIF Division 2 title
Strong defense in second half helps Rosary edge Northwood in CIF Division 4 final
Northwood knocks off top seeded team to reach CIF finals for first time