GIRLS' WATER POLO ROUNDUP: AGOURA ONE AWAY FROM GOAL.

Byline: Daily News

The Agoura girls' water polo team reached redemption Friday but is still short of its objective.

The Chargers avenged three straight playoff loses to Santa Barbara, including two Southern Section championships, with an 8-6 Div. II semifinal win against the Dons at the William Woolett Jr. Aquatic Center in Irvine.

"It feels just like we won CIF," said Carly Clark, who led the Chargers with four goals, including the one that put the game out of reach with 1:44 left and a 7-4 lead. "To stop them from getting into the finals was what we wanted. Now we have to continue to keep playing as a team and do the right things in the next game."

Agoura will be Monday's championship game instead of the Dons, who have been in the final the last nine years. The Chargers (25-6) will face Laguna Beach at the Belmont Pool in Long Beach for the Div. II title.

The Dons (22-8) held Casey Flacks, the Chargers' speedy swimmer and scrappy defender, to one goal and three steals and forced Jillian Waldron and Emily Schmachtenberger to foul out late in the game. But coach Jason Rosenthal's team had other weapons to complete the job.

Alana Altmann and Talia Cognata scored added goals for the Chargers, who never trailed in a game that featured four lead changes and was tied three times. Schmachtenberger scored on an assist by Flacks early in the final period for a 6-4 lead. Agoura goalkeeper Sara Gralitzer finished with 15 saves.

Santa Barbara beat Agoura 8-7 in last year's Div. IV title game and the year before. The Dons also knocked the Chargers out of the playoffs in the semifinals in 2004.

"It wasn't the championship game but it feels really good to win," Rosenthal said. "We didn't blow them out, it was a close game. Like I told Mark Walsh (the Dons' coach), I modeled our program after theirs because they were the model team."

OTHER DIV. IV GAMES

Cabrillo of Lompoc 9, Harvard-Westlake 6: Harvard-Westlake came within two goals of tying Cabrillo after holding top-seeded Cabrillo scoreless in the third quarter. But Cabrillo returned the favor keeping the Wolverines scoreless for 10:35 in the second half in a match at Pasadena City College.

"It's sour grapes right now because I wish we could've played better," Harvard-Westlake coach Larry Felix said. "But for where some of them were two years ago to making the semis, I couldn't be happier."

Nadia Dan led the Wolverines with three goals, one assist and two steals. Madison had nine saves including two stopped penalty shots.

Arroyo Grande 12, Glendale 6: Glendale's first semifinal appeareance in school history was spoiled by No. 2 Arroyo Grande, who scored four unanswered goals in the third quarter to pull away at Cuesta College. Sarah Wolff scored two goals for the Nitros while Shaggy Abolian and Vanuhi Ovasapyan added one each.

-- Ivan Orozco and Erik Boal