Mater Dei girls water polo loses to Oaks Christian in Open Division final

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WALNUT — As Mater Dei’s girls water polo players stood somberly on the pool deck, the sting of a loss in the CIF-SS finals showed as coach Chris Segesman approached with a silver-colored plaque and a message.

“Be proud of yourselves,” the Olympian told his players, “there’s two teams left.”

But once again, Oaks Christian was the one team that stood in the way of an Orange County school claiming a CIF-SS Open Division title.

Mater Dei’s quest for its first section championship in girls water polo ended with an 11-8 loss at Mt. SAC on Saturday.

Third-seeded Oaks Christian (26-6), which defeated Newport Harbor 7-5 in the finals last season, rallied from a trio of three-goal deficits in the first half.

Alexandra Stoddard, the reigning Open Division co-player of the year, led the Lions by blocking two penalty shots and holding top-seeded Mater Dei (28-3) scoreless for the final nine minutes and 24 seconds.

“We know Oaks Christian closes well,” said Segesman, whose program dropped to 0-5 in section finals. “We just stalled a little offensively, so I got to take responsibility for that but our girls battled. It was a great game. We battled to the very end. They’re a great team. It was a good finals, and they executed late. We didn’t execute late.”

“I know (our players are) disappointed but at end of the day, I’m super proud of them,” the coach added. “These girls worked really hard to get back after a disappointing semifinals last season.”

Oaks Christian also was the Monarchs’ nemesis in the ’25 Open Division semifinals, rallying from a four-goal deficit in the fourth quarter to win 12-11 in overtime.

On Saturday, Mater Dei took an 8-6 lead on a goal from left-hander Campbell Pence off an assist by Delaney Hook with 2:24 left in the third period. The Monarchs had their chances but didn’t score again.

With 54 seconds left in the third, senior Riley Johnson drew a penalty but Stoddard blocked Mater Dei’s shot.

Early in the fourth period, Paige Segesman, the coach’s daughter, drew another penalty. Stoddard, a Princeton commit who trains with the Canadian national team, blocked another penalty shot by the Monarchs.

“She’s the best goalie in the country, by far,” Oaks Christian coach Jack Kocur said of Stoddard, who had 14 saves. “She did it not only this year, she did it last year.”

On the ensuing possession after Stoddard’s penalty block in the fourth, Oaks Christian tied the score 8-8 on backhanded strike from center by Aaliyah Kim. The Lions then scored consecutive power-play goals with 3:01 and 2:09 left to seal the victory.

Mia Fabros converted the first on a rebound to give Oaks Christian its first lead. Junior Makena Bygrave netted the second on a slick pass from the wing by Siena Doble for her match-high sixth goal.

Oaks Christian finished 3 for 8 on the power play and 1 for 1 on penalty shots. Mater Dei went 1 for 4 with the extra attacker and 1 for 3 on penalty shots.

Mater Dei goalie Sienna Sorensen finished with 11 saves.

“Sienna played a championship-level game,” Segesman said. “Those are the two best goalies in high school.”

Mater Dei received two goals apiece from Pence, senior Kirra Pantaleon and junior Maggie Ryan.