Edison starts strong with wild-card win

CIF Playoffs Roundup

Chargers open CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs with 12-2 victory over El Dorado in girls' water polo.

February 19, 2014|By Mike Sciacca

(SCOTT SMELTZER,…)

The wild-card way is how the Edison High girls' water polo team has begun its postseason drive.

The Chargers opened CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoff action by playing a wild-card game Tuesday, and their thorough performance Tuesday at the Costa Mesa High pool has them moving on in the postseason.

Edison cruised to a 12-2 victory over El Dorado. The ninth-ranked Chargers shut out the Golden Hawks (Century League No. 4) in the first quarter and the entirety of the second half. They led, 6-0, after one quarter and 9-2 at halftime.

Delaney Cleveland of the Chargers led the scoring with four goals. Natalie May and Julie Harrison both scored twice, Lyndsie Williams and Sabrina Jensen (four assists) both scored once, and freshman Chloe Kunst scored twice to go with a pair of assists and three steals.

Josette Santos and Sierra Page had eight and seven saves, respectively for Edison, the third-place team from the Sunset League which improved to 17-12.

"Our girls came out really strong against El Dorado," Edison Coach Diggy Riley said. "It was nice to see our bench get some significant playing time, especially in a CIF game at home.

"Our defense was the key, especially the full-court press, which has been so consistent all season long."

The victory sent Edison into a first-round match Wednesday at Pacific Coast League champ Corona del Mar. The score wasn't available at press time.

The winner of Wednesday's first-round game advances to a quarterfinal game Saturday.

The Division 1 semifinals are at 5 and 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center in Irvine.

Edison had wrapped up the third and final automatic playoff berth from the Sunset League Feb. 12 by ending its league season with a 9-5 win over Huntington Beach. Jensen scored four goals to go with five steals, two assists and two earned ejections for the Chargers. May had three goals, three steals and an assist, and Cleveland and Williams each scored once.

Edison opened up a 7-3 lead in the third quarter and went on to outscore the Oilers, 6-2, in the second half.

The Chargers ended the regular season Friday against Glendora St. Lucy's, the ninth-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 3, and defeated the Regents, 11-10, at Ocean View High. Julie Harrison three goals and had two assists and a steal, and goalie Josette Santos had 11 saves for Edison.

Two other local prep girls' water polo teams are competing this week in CIF Southern Section postseason play.

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