DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

There always seems to be a strange story, or stereotype as to why a player is stuck at goalie.

The reasons appear to be the same whether it’s in soccer, hockey, or water polo. Too slow, too big, no scoring ability.

In Morgan Vickers’ case, she chose the position at Newport Harbor High because of the size of the net behind her in water polo.

“I played [goalie] in soccer, so I thought it would probably be a little bit easier coming from a huge net to a smaller net,” she said. “I have a lot better [reflexes] now.”

She needs to react quickly. There’s more action in water polo than in soccer for a goalie. Definitely more shots, even close-range ones that are at times fired toward a goalie’s face, but Vickers is OK with the head-hunting tactics.

“You got to take it to the face,” she said proudly. “It hurts a lot. Sometimes I’m afraid [the shot] broke my face. I don’t know why [we don’t do it]. I told my teammates, ‘Why don’t you just go at their [goalie’s] face?’ They’re like, ‘That’s mean!’ No one else seems to get it.”

The way the Sailors are playing, they’re doing a good enough job without having to break a goalie’s nose to score.

Newport Harbor is off to a 4-0 start and a lot of it has to do with its stellar defense led by one of its seniors in Vickers. With Vickers in net, legendary coach Bill Barnett knows he has a player he can count on. The position requires someone who can forget about miscues like a defensive back in football.

“She has a very positive, rosy outlook toward things, so that’s really important,” Barnett said. “She never gets down on herself.”

There isn’t anything to be dejected about right now as three-time section champion Newport Harbor once again has the makeup of a champion with a loaded roster.

After the way Vickers performed last week in a 5-2 nonleague victory against defending CIF Southern Section Division I champion Foothill, she’s glowing. So are the rest of her teammates.

Last year, Foothill owned the Sailors, knocking them out of the semifinals, their fourth victory against Newport Harbor in five games. Even though Barnett praises Vickers for disregarding mistakes and moving on, Vickers remembers each of the losses. She started in each of them.

In her first start against the Knights this season, she recorded 10 saves, stuffing practically every scoring chance, including a five-meter penalty shot from the then-top-ranked program.

“I think we came out of that game knowing that we can win our second game of the season and it was against Foothill, it was like a major confidence booster for everyone,” Vickers said. “I think before either playing Foothill or [Corona del Mar] everyone has the butterflies. But once you get in there and the first goal is scored, then it was just like, ‘OK. This is our game, time to step up.’ ”

Vickers has elevated her game to another level. As one of three returning starters, the others Stanford-bound senior Mimi Bury and UC Berkeley-bound senior Jessica Robinson, Vickers takes it upon herself to lead.

One of the first things Barnett noticed when he brought up Vickers from the frosh/soph team after her sophomore year was her work ethic.

“She’s a very, very hard worker,” he said.

If you ask Nicolina McCall, Vickers is “crazy” when it comes to preparing. The practice hours are already grueling, from 6 to 7 in the morning, 6 to 8 on Wednesdays because of school starting later. Then it’s back for a three-hour-plus afternoon practice.

To Vickers, it’s all worth it because it brings out the best when it comes to big games. The Sailors next big one is Friday against cross-town rival Corona del Mar in the Battle of the Bay at 4 p.m.

“I wouldn’t call it so much pressure. You come from Newport, you want to win, because, especially this program does,” Vickers said. “The boys just won CIF, so for us it’s like, ‘OK. Well, they did it. Now why don’t we?’

“They’re a lot of us [seniors] and we all want to go out with a bang.”

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].