Championship Article

Tualatin ends Newberg’s title streak
Girls water polo — Tigers give top-ranked Timberwolves everything they can handle before falling 6-5 in championship
By: Seth Gordon Published: 11/17/2010 12:00:00 PM

CORVALLIS — With an inexperienced roster outside of senior goalie Leah O’Halloran and the sophomore trio of Alysha Bush, Cassie Beecher and Alexis Vargas, Newberg struggled to keep up with Tualatin and Lincoln during the regular season.

The question was, would the supporting cast develop in time for the Tigers to challenge the Timberwolves or Cardinals by the time the state tournament rolled around?

Newberg at least gave itself the chance to answer that question with a 7-1 victory over Sam Barlow in the state semifinals Friday at the Osborn Aquatic Center.

The Tigers then proved they were up to the challenge Saturday versus Tualatin, but state tournament MVP Bryn Hudson’s third goal of the game, with 2:05 to play, lifted the Timberwolves to a 6-5 victory that snapped Newberg’s run of five consecutive Class 6A titles.

“When we started out, some of them could barely swim, barely shoot or barely even hold the ball,” O’Halloran said of the team’s new players. “Now all of them are shooting and scoring. They’re becoming such great water polo players, I can already see it. It’s really amazing how much they’ve stepped it up, especially during playoffs and state.”

Tualatin threatened to pull away early after jumping to a 3-0 lead, but Bush answered with a goal to make the score 3-1 after the first quarter.

The two teams traded goals in the second, the latter coming on a looping shot by Clara Pugsley that kept the Tigers within striking distance down 4-2 at halftime.

Bush scored again early in the third quarter to bring Newberg within a goal, but Tualatin answered with 51 seconds remaining before the quarter ended in controversy.

The Timberwolves keeper blocked a shot with about four seconds left on the clock, but Beecher followed up and put the rebound in as time expired. The officials ultimately allowed the goal, which made it 5-4, Tualatin.

Vargas finally pulled the Tigers level with five minutes to play in the fourth, but Newberg could not find the net after Hudson hit the game-winner with a picture-perfect corner shot.

“They have nothing to be ashamed of. That was a great effort,” McMaster said. “I thought we could have had our socks knocked off, but the girls just played as hard as they could and with a lot of heart.”

O’Halloran blocked 12 shots and was named to the all-tournament first team along with Beecher, who scored five goals in the semifinal win, and Bush.

“Our main interest was to stop their No. 1 player,” McMaster said. “She got (three) goals, but she usually scores about seven, so Cassie Beecher just did a heck of a job. (O’Halloran) came up with some big saves. She really kept us in the game.”