Arroyo Grande girls win Southern Section water polo title

IIRVINE — A recent conversation among the Arroyo Grande High girls water polo team focused on the Eagles’ desire to elevate their status from good to elite.

They took a step in the right direction Saturday.

Arroyo Grande claimed the program’s fourth CIF-Southern Section championship as the   No. 1-seeded Eagles defeated No. 2 Riverside Martin Luther King 6-4 in the Division 3 final at the William Woollett Aquatics Center.

The come-from-behind victory that featured a game-high three goals by Arroyo Grande junior Kate Empey is the Eagles’ first since claiming a third consecutive Division 4 title in 2010.

“It’s massive for our program,” Arroyo Grande coach Steve Allen said. “It’s been a few years since we’ve won.

“I told the girls coming into this week that I felt like our program had kind of a notch up to go and kept moving up to this next level of trying to get to be as good as the Orange County teams. I told them this was kind of our final test. They passed with flying colors.”

For the second game in a row, a second-half comeback was required by the Eagles (23-6).

After Empey tied the score on an outside shot early in the fourth quarter, Isabella Manuele pounded in a shot at the post with 5:01 remaining for a 5-4 lead that marked Arroyo Grande’s first lead since the initial goal in the first quarter.

The lead was preserved as the Eagles defense did not surrender a goal in the final period. A steal by Arroyo Grande’s Brittany Winn ended King’s final opportunity and set up the Eagles’ final goal.

The Wolves pulled their goalie, allowing Sarah Parson to score on an open net with one second left.

“I liked how we battled through adversity,” Allen said. “We were down pretty much most of the game and we were able to get goals when it counted at the end.

“Our defense kind of led the way and kept us in there until we could get a couple goals at the end to make a difference.

“I think the adversity from our semifinal basically allowed us to get through this one to get the win. We were down 4-1 in the semifinal and came back to win it, so this time I think we all felt it’s only one, we can get it back. I think those are the only two games we’ve come back to win.”

A goal by Brittany Winn had given Arroyo Grande the initial lead with 44 seconds left in the first quarter, but the advantage lasted just 17 seconds as King scored on the ensuing possession and ended the period tied 1-1.

The Wolves pulled ahead on a goal by Chase Kelly with 2:24 left in the second quarter. King outshot the Eagles 10-3 during the quarter in which several Arroyo Grande possessions ended in turnovers.

Big plays by Eagles goalie Emily Sonny, who finished with 15 saves, prevented Arroyo Grande’s deficit from being greater than the 2-1 disadvantage at halftime. Sonny blocked a penalty shot in the first quarter and made other clutch stops such as blocking a point-blank shot on a breakaway by King’s Madison Stamen late in the second quarter.

“We were definitely worried,” Empey said. “It was close the whole game.  …

“At half we all looked at each other and were like, ‘OK, what’s past is in the past. We can move on and just play our game. We’ve worked so hard for this.’ We just needed to play like we normally do and play as a team.”

Back-to-back goals by Empey tied the score 3-3, but another goal by the Wolves’ Stamen left Arroyo Grande trailing 4-3 entering the final period.

The Eagles’ fourth-quarter goals made Arroyo Grande the first team this postseason to score at least five goals against King (25-12).

The comeback was still sinking in for the Eagles after their postgame celebration in the pool.

“I’m kind of shocked almost,” Empey said. “We’ve been working up to this since semis last year. We’ve been working so hard. We’re all just like, ‘We actually achieved our goal.’ ”

This story was originally published February 28, 2015 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Arroyo Grande girls win Southern Section water polo title."