CdM rallies for win

NEWPORT BEACH — Just call them the comeback kings.

In Friday’s Battle of the Bay — the girls’ lacrosse edition — the Corona del Mar High Sea Kings, down by three early on, appeared outmatched and outmanned for 45 minutes only to completely turn around the momentum and storm past Newport Harbor, 11-8.

With 15 minutes left in the nonleague game, senior Hillary Bush sliced through three defenders and slotted a shot while falling down after a bump, bringing CdM within, 6-5. Bush got back to her feet and gave an excited fist pump toward the bench.

The Sailors’ energy was deflating, while the Sea Kings’ was rising.

Five minutes later, Bush tied the game, 6-6, but no fist pump was necessary to get her team excited this time. A newly energized Sea Kings squad now knew the game could be won.

“The second half was just amazing,” Bush said. “My favorite moments are when the team flows really well and it just brings up the energy so much. We were fired up.”

After tying the game, CdM went on a 5-2 run and never looked back. Senior goalie Zoe Salaam went from allowing six goals in 30 minutes to stopping all but two shots in the final 20 minutes. After having its way in the first half, Newport had no answer for Salaam and the tough defenders in front of her.

“Our defense is the best that it has ever been,” CdM Coach Aly Vislocky said. “We have the speed and ability to collapse on teams [and] our goalie Salaam is top-notch. I think she is the best goalie in the [Sunset League].”

But it was obvious on Friday that Vislocky is not only lucky to have Salaam, but also a few explosive players up front. Senior Madison McHam maneuvered her way through the Sailors’ defense to score three of the Sea Kings’ first four goals and keep CdM in the game early on, while sophomore Gabby Smith scored three of the last four goals to close the game for the Sea Kings.

But this was a tale of two halves.

Newport Harbor came out firing as Amanda Olevsky put the Sailors on the board in the fifth minute as Sierra Michaelsen, who scored three goals on the day, and Taylor Cordeiro soon followed to give Newport Harbor its early 3-0 lead . The Sailors also locked up the majority of draws, winning 11 to CdM’s five. And even though Newport Harbor controlled the groundball game early, picking up 25 overall, it was the Sea Kings who were able to make the crucial shots in the pivotal moments.

“It was a back and forth game the whole time,” Newport Harbor Coach Sarah Queener said. “But at the end they were just able to capitalize more than we were.”

Above being a ‘W’ in the win column, this game was a huge reassurance for CdM that they can compete with some of the best teams around.

“They were in control for a little while but we realized that we didn’t need to let the pressure to get to us,” Salaam said. “[And] once we started to have fun with it, we started to win.”