{"id":2477,"date":"2010-01-03T06:07:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-03T06:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/sports\/moore-league-winter-sports-preview-girls-water-polo\/"},"modified":"2010-01-03T06:07:00","modified_gmt":"2010-01-03T06:07:00","slug":"moore-league-winter-sports-preview-girls-water-polo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/moore-league-winter-sports-preview-girls-water-polo","title":{"rendered":"Moore League Winter Sports Preview: Girls’ Water Polo"},"content":{"rendered":"


Photo by Stephen Dachman<\/span><\/p>\n

There are a few sports in the Moore League that are up for grabs\u2014girls’ water polo hasn’t been one of them, and it’s not likely to start this season, either.  <\/span>Wilson opened with losses in three of their first four games, but are still the only Moore League team in the CIF Top Ten\u2014plus, it’s something of a habit.  <\/span>Only once in the last fourteen years did another team win the league cup.  <\/span>Here’s a quick look at the league’s top four teams, as well as a full schedule for the season.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Wilson<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

Wilson is a team full of experience in a league that sports a lot of youth in the 2009-10 season.  <\/span>They have the league’s best goalie in Kellie Ringel (who is headed to Long Beach State), an advantage they’ll lean on often down the stretch.  <\/span>They have two other senior starters, Jamie Williams (a Moore League co-MVP last year) and Andrea McKinney, who will go on to play at the next level.  <\/span>The other four underclassmen starting were All-Moore League last season, so it’s a talent-rich team on both ends of the pool.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But that package hasn’t been enough to stop the competition thus far, as Wilson opened with a disappointing three losses in its first four games\u2014albeit to high-talent teams in Edison, Santa Barbara, and Coronado.  <\/span>Still, as the team finds its chemistry during league play and the rigorous tournament schedule that coach Tony Martinho keeps them on, they’re still the odds-on favorites to keep the Moore League trophy in its case at Wilson, where it’s gotten to be a familiar sight.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Poly<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

Poly’s season may feel like it’s pretty short\u2014they have a bye week, and then host their arch-rivals Wilson in the second week of the league schedule, a continuation of a rivalry that goes back decades.  <\/span>If they want to contend for the league title, and not just a playoff spot, it will come down to that game above all others.  <\/span>“Wilson is really tough, too,” says Poly coach Scott Penttila.  <\/span>“They beat us by five over the summer\u2014we’re hoping we can play one of our best games against them.”<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Penttila has a relatively experienced bunch as well, with major talent in the form of Orla Brazell and Nicole Van Derhoof, both seniors who were first-team All-League last year.  <\/span>“Van Derhoof is an amazing player,” says Millikan coach Al Reyes.  <\/span>“She creates her own shot, she plays defense, she’s the total package.”<\/o:p><\/p>\n

She and Brazell will be backed up by a young roster that also sees returning all-league players in Megan Gil and Roma Rizalado.  <\/span>“We’re looking forward to league play,” says Penttila. “We’ve been focusing on our all-around game, I’ve been stressing defense a lot.  <\/span>You never know what could happen in the Moore League.”<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Millikan<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

Millikan coach Al Reyes was having a rough time in the nonleague stretch when we talked to him for the preview.  <\/span>“We’re a little injured and sick this year\u2014five girls on my bench are sick or injured, and one of the few seniors I have broke her hand.  <\/span>Another one has an ACL injury\u2014that’s the nature of the beast.  <\/span>Some years you have ten seniors and no injuries.”  <\/span>That’s the year Millikan had last year, and Reyes says they’ve reloaded this year, but will need time to grow the experience.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

“We have talent,” he says, “It’s just baby talent.”<\/o:p><\/p>\n

They do have a steady senior in the goal, as Ghita Bouzaris will try to keep the net clean for the Rams again this year.  <\/span>On offense, they have a phenomenal one-two punch in Emily Matheson and Christine MacLenna, sophomore and junior respectively, who had 53 goals in the Ram’s first 12 games.  <\/span>“They’re the straws that stir the drink,” says Reyes, who sees tremendous potential in his inexperienced roster.  <\/span>“We’ll see how it goes,” he says.  <\/span>“It all depends on how quickly our young girls grow up.”<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lakewood<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

The youth movement continues at Lakewood, where the Lancers return exactly one starter, Annie Phung, who made first team All-League as a sophomore last season.  <\/span>Her coach, Janelle Deutschman says Phung is an “outstanding driver who continually looks for scoring opportunities,” and is also adept at earning ejections.  <\/span>She’ll be joined by newcomers Ashley Gunter and Brooke Livesay.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

“We have a very young varsity group who is looking to learn new offensive and defensive schemes as quickly as possible,” says Deutschman.  <\/span>“The biggest key will be to strengthen our defense.”<\/o:p><\/p>\n

2009-2010 Moore League Girls’ Water Polo Schedule<\/o:p><\/p>\n

NOTE: All games on Thursdays at 3pm, Wilson home games played at Belmont Plaza<\/o:p><\/p>\n

January 7<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

Wilson @ Lakewood<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Jordan @ Millikan<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Poly BYE<\/o:p><\/p>\n

January 14<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

Wilson @ Poly<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Lakewood @ Jordan<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Millikan BYE<\/o:p><\/p>\n

January 28<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

Poly @ Lakewood<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Millikan @ Wilson<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Jordan BYE<\/o:p><\/p>\n

February 2<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

Poly @ Jordan<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Lakewood @ Millikan<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Wilson BYE<\/o:p><\/p>\n

February 11<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jordan @ Wilson<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Millikan @ Poly<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Lakewood BYE<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There’s a clear front-runner in the Moore League for the 2009-2010 girls’ water polo schedule, but it should be a fun season nonetheless.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2477\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2477"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=2477"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}