PHOTOS: JSerra uses big second half to defeat Sunny Hills for first CIF championship

JSerra players and coaches celebrate after winning the CIF Division 3 title Saturday. (Photos: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).

JSerra High School’s girls water polo team used an explosive second-half offensive attack, coupled with an aggressive defense, to break open a close game and defeat Sunny Hills 13-5 in the CIF Division 3 championship match Saturday at the William Woollett Aquatic Center.

Junior attacker Zoe Gabriel scored four goals and freshman Sloane Paulson added three goals as the Lions earned the school’s first CIF girls water polo title. No. 1 seeded JSerra improved its record to 30-4 and avenged last season’s final loss and outscored its opponents 72-13 during the playoffs. No. 2 Sunny Hills (29-3) was attempting to win its first CIF title as well.  

Kamryn McCord, Sayre Duran and Sophia Balkhi each added two goals apiece for the Lions, who notched their sixth consecutive victory.

“We had extra motivation from last season when we lost in the finals,” said Gabriel, who scored three fourth-quarter goals to help the Lions secure the victory. “We made adjustments at halftime to their offense and defense and started moving the ball and passing better in the second-half.”

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

JSerra coach Natalie Seidemann said her team’s hard work paid off.

“I’m so proud of how hard these girls have worked and how far we have come; we started this program with seven girls and now we’re CIF champions,” said Seidemann, who played water polo at UCI. “Our defense really stepped up in the second-half and I knew these girls would not let this game slip away.”

The match was tied 3-3 after the first quarter and then Sunny Hills attacker Sofia Smith scored at the 4:31 mark of the second-quarter to tie the match at 4-4.

“At that point with the match tied, I kept thinking our girls are in this game and we have a chance to win this match,” said Sunny Hills Coach Keith Nighswonger, who has coached Sunny Hills for the past 34 years and whose teams have won six consecutive Freeway League titles, while posting a 48-0 league record during that span.   

However, the Lions raised their defensive efforts up a notch and limited the Lancers to just one more goal the rest of the way. 

JSerra got off to a quick start in the third-quarter as Duran and Balkhi scored back-to-back goals in the first 90 seconds to build a 6-4 lead. Sydney Chapman, Paulson and Balkhi added three more goals in the quarter as the Lions outscored the Lancers 5-1 in the quarter and took a 9-5 lead after three periods. Twice in the quarter the Lions scored goals with the extra attacker.

The JSerra’ goakeeper Micaela Martz was outstanding in the nets and Paulson and McCord played key defensive roles. The Lions stole the ball several times and forced Sunny Hills to turn the ball over without getting a shot as they shut down the Lancers attack in the second-half.  

“It feels amazing to be a CIF champion,” said Paulson. “We’ve been a second-half team this season and this win really shows how we pull for each other and how effective we have worked together as a team.”

Martz and Duran expressed their excitement following the game.

“I am so humbled to win; we came together as a team,” Martz said.

“We kept our cool, didn’t panic and worked as a team and really connected and that was the difference today,” said Duran. 

Nighswonger also conveyed his pride for his Sunny Hills team.

“These are girls from our neighborhood community and they wanted to make our program bigger and better,” said Nighswonger. “They executed all season and they have integrity and that’s why it’s so inspiring and satisfying to coach them.”

Smith and Hannah Reekstin each scored two goals for Sunny Hills.

“It was a great season and we gave it our all and we wanted to finish strong,” said Reekstin, a junior. “We’ll use this as motivation to come back even stronger next year.”

JSerra defeated Villanova Prep, Capo Valley and Elsinore in the first three rounds of the playoffs, while the Lancers defeated Cypress, California and El Toro.  

—Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone