Slow start hurts Newport Harbor in 11-8 loss to Mater Dei

The Newport Harbor High boys’ water polo team outscored host Mater Dei over the final 24 minutes of Monday night’s nonleague game.

It was the first four minutes that were a big problem for the Sailors, as the Monarchs ran off four unanswered goals.

It proved tough for Newport Harbor to try to upset the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 1 and 2 by coming out of such a big hole.

The No. 5-ranked Sailors battled but fell 11-8 as their upset bid was denied.

Senior Wyatt Benson, a Huntington Beach resident, scored twice from center for the Monarchs early. They then got an outside goal from Stanford-bound senior Jack Seybold, a Newport Beach resident. Sophomore Cooper Haddad, a Huntington Beach resident, then added a quick six-on-five strike as the Monarchs took a 4-0 lead with 3:01 remaining in the first quarter.

“I was a little shocked at that start,” Mater Dei coach Chris Segesman said. “Newport has a really good goalie [in Max Sandberg]. [Coach] Ross [Sinclair] does a good job on the defensive side, so I was a little bit surprised.

“Our counterattack was solid, our defense locked down their center, our shot-blocking was good. I just think that we put them on their heels. The energy and focus to start that game was really good for us.”

Mater Dei was on its way to improving to 22-3, and beating Newport Harbor (21-5) for the second time this season. The first came in the semifinals of the South Coast Tournament last month.

The Sailors, who beat Loyola 12-11 in sudden-death overtime to finish fifth at the Memorial Cup tournament on Saturday in San Jose, did battle back. They closed the gap with Mater Dei to 8-6 late in the third quarter, when junior Jack White scored on a quick pass from sophomore Reed Stemler. White and sophomore Makoto Kenney led the Sailors with two goals each.

But Mater Dei also ended strong, drawing four exclusions and a penalty shot in the fourth quarter alone. Seybold scored the penalty shot, drawn by Haddad, to give the hosts a 9-6 advantage with 6:17 left. It was the team-best third goal of the game for Seybold.

Kenney scored on a lob to cut the Sailors’ deficit to two again, but Ian Minsterman’s power-play goal and a redirect shot from Warren Loth made it 11-7 in Mater Dei’s favor.

“Any time you get a chance to play a top-ranked team, it’s good for you,” Sinclair said. “We were able to come back and make it a game, but they got too big of a lead too early.”

Segesman highlighted the defensive play of Loth, a junior from Newport Beach who had four steals and two field blocks while limiting the Sailors’ centers, Jackson Westerman and Ike Love. They combined for just one goal that was scored by Love, who also drew three exclusions.

Stemler, Ryan Brosnan and Charlie Covina scored the other goals for the Sailors, who got 10 saves from Sandberg.

Newport Harbor must regroup for Wednesday’s regular-season and Sunset League finale, which will be at home against Huntington Beach at 5 p.m. The match will decide the league title, as both teams are 4-0 in league. The Oilers, ranked No. 3 in Division 1 and 2, have won three straight league titles.

“We’ll come in [Tuesday] and start preparing,” Sinclair said. “Hopefully we can have a good game.”

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo