To get the finish it wanted, the Edison High girls’ water polo team needed to focus more on the start.
The Chargers had come out slow in Sunset League losses to Newport Harbor and Los Alamitos earlier this year.
“It was not a physical thing,” Coach Diggy Riley said. “Mentally, we just didn’t come out and stay focused. We didn’t play very smart.”
But over the weekend at the Irvine Southern California Championships, that was clearly not a problem.
Edison will go into the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs with some big-time momentum. That’s what happens when you beat both Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor for the first time in program history — in the same tournament.
Edison finished third at the tournament. The Chargers topped CdM in Friday’s quarterfinals, 8-4, as Alys Williams, Abby Oshiro and Melissa Balding scored two goals each and Clair Babinski made 11 saves. The teams had come into the tournament tied for fourth in the Division I poll.
But after falling to eventual champion Dos Pueblos, 9-3, in a semifinal, the Chargers (19-6) made an even bigger statement in the third-place game against Newport Harbor. The Sailors had lost to Los Al in the other semifinal and would be looking for a better game but instead Edison won again, 8-5.
Williams scored four goals against the Tars and Warde scored three; both were named to the all-tournament team.
“I told the girls how there is so much pride in that [Newport] program and so much history of winning,” said Riley, a Newport Harbor alumnus who played for current girls’ coach Bill Barnett. “They’ll try to just come out and squash us [but] we didn’t give them anything in the fourth quarter. Nothing.”
Edison, which beat Fountain Valley, 11-2, on Feb. 3, faced Marina in its final Sunset League game Wednesday and now awaits the CIF pairings, which will be released at 11 a.m. Sunday.
Riley surmised that his team might play CdM again if both teams make it to the quarterfinals, and all three top Sunset League teams could make the semifinals.
“There’s so much to be said of the work ethic of these athletes,” said Riley, who helped coach last year’s Edison girls’ swim team to the Division I title. “It’s contagious, working hard and having a positive attitude.”
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
