Newport boasts inside presence

Chris Yemma

A lot of high school coaches like to stress the fundamentals of their

sport -- the teamwork, the dedication and the unselfishness that is

supposed to be learned through athletics.

Sometimes, it’s not about winning or losing, or how many points,

goals or touchdowns an individual has.

But when you’re a top-ranked team, winning seems like it’s

mandatory.

With the Newport Harbor High girls water polo team, ranked No. 1

in CIF Southern Section Division I, winning games is something the

team is used to, having compiled a 17-1 record.

And sometimes, it is about scoring goals.

Against Long Beach Wilson Friday, the Sailors needed a breakout

performance to get by the fourth-ranked Bruins (9-9).

They got one: Nine goals from senior two-meter player Ashling

Taylor in a 12-9 victory in Wilson’s own pool.

“That’s pretty dominating,” Newport Coach Bill Barnett said.

“Rarely do you see that in a high school game. I can only remember

one time I’ve seen that.”

The one time was a seven-goal performance from former Sailors’

two-meter standout Kyndra Cox during the 1999 season when Newport won

the CIF Division I crown.

Now, the Sailors, fresh off a CIF title last season, are on

another quest for the championship, this time with a middle presence

that has found her groove.

“Coach Barnett was stressing to me all week my form,” Taylor said.

“I hadn’t understood exactly what he meant, but then it just came to

me.

“It was spontaneous. All of a sudden it just came to me and I knew

what to do and it worked.”

And “poof,” nine goals later after finding her form, Taylor had

the best performance all season, helping the Sailors down the Bruins

for the third time this season. “I knew she had potential,” Barnett

said. “She’s a really good athlete. . She’s totally ambidextrous and

she throws like a boy.”

On a team that runs deep with talent, sometimes it takes standout

performances from players to get the job done.

A lot of the times it’s senior Anne Belden, a returning All-CIF

Division I first-team honoree headed to UCLA. Sometimes it’s other

players such as Melissa Wheeler, Leah Robertson, Lauren Laidlaw or

Elizabeth Layton.

But the glory of scoring doesn’t come without a price tag. Taylor

said she takes quite a beating at the two-meter position, while also

giving her fair share of physical play.

The position is exactly how it sounds -- the player posts up two

meters out from the goal and waits for the pass. It’s like the center

position in basketball, yet the players are almost completely under

water and the referees can’t see what’s going on a lot of the time.

“It’s like a cat fight, to put it lightly,” Taylor said. “You get

your suit grabbed, your face, your neck. I’ve come out with my suit

ripped -- it’s like a war zone.”

Currently, USC, Indiana, San Diego State, San Jose State and UC

Davis are interested in Taylor.