“It was another tough game,” Coach Ethan Damato said. “It was good to come back with a win. We didn’t want to let give up a chance to beat Foothill at our pool.”
Brunner had three goals against Foothill, and Quellmalz and Spencer Dodson two each. Erik Henrikson made 10 saves.
In the season opener, Laguna battled back from a late deficit but was denied when, off a timeout, Michael Mitchell scored with a second on the clock to lift Villa Park.
Villa Park had led the game, 9-7, with under three minutes to go, but Quellmalz scored from set and then Dodson earned a penalty shot with 50 seconds to go. McConnell converted it, temporarily tying the game before Mitchell’s stunner.
“We were thinking he was going to throw it in the middle and they were going to tip it in,” said Quellmalz, who had a game-high four goals, of the final possession. “We tried to crowd the middle but he ended up just shooting. It was a definite heartbreaker It was a great shot by him.
“I think we played great,” he added. “We’ve come a long way since last year We love the competition.”
They’ll get more of it at the Villa Park Tournament, which began Thursday. Damato said the Breakers, ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Division III poll, could play top-ranked Montebello in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Laguna also has a nonleague match with Montebello scheduled for Tuesday, on the road. Murrieta Valley, the No. 3-ranked team in Division III, is also at the Villa Park Tournament.
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GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL
Laguna Beach battled Tuesday night on the road, but Santa Margarita was too tough in the four-game match, 25-22, 25-14, 25-15. The Eagles the top-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Division I-AA coaches’ poll; Laguna Beach is No. 4 in Division I-A.
