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ALL-COUNTY GIRLS WATER POLO TEAM 2024-25

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Allison Cohen, Orange Lutheran, Junior 

Allison Cohen knows how to balance herself in and out of the pool.

Inside the water polo course, the junior steadies Orange Lutheran with her multi-position defense, passing and scoring. This winter, she also represented the U.S. national team on two continents while being in-season with the Lancers.

Outside of the pool, she relies on her Christian faith for perspective and humility.

Cohen struck a productive balance this season, and for her efforts, is The Register’s Orange County player of the year for 2024-25.

“Allison continues to add to her game each year,” Orange Lutheran coach Brenda Villa said of Cohen, who led the Lancers to Trinity League and CIF SoCal Regional titles. “This year, she really stepped into her defensive side and defended some good shooters in key moments.”

“Her skill and IQ on both ends of the pool makes her a force,” the coach added.

Cohen, a 5-foot-10 utility player, honed her defensive skills while playing for Team USA at the World Cup in Greece in mid-January. While usually an attacker for the U.S. team, she guarded center and faced bigger and older players.

“That was really cool to take on all the big centers internationally and kind of get destroyed, which is good for me,” she said with a laugh. “It helped me grow.”

Cohen also gained experience in late November by helping the United States capture gold at the Pan American Championships in Colombia. She scored eight goals on nine shots in the tournament.

Cohen’s experience shined in a showdown against Mater Dei for the Trinity League title. She scored the go-ahead goal in the fourth period and had another perimeter strike about 50 seconds later to lift the Lancers to a 10-9 win over Mater Dei, which at the time was ranked No. 1 in the county.

Orange Lutheran’s bid for a third consecutive CIF-SS Open Division title was dashed by Newport Harbor in the semifinals, but the Lancers rebounded to beat Mater Dei 10-6 for a second straight Division I regional title.

“Brenda always says we want to be playing the best at the end (of the season),” said Cohen, who had two goals and three assists in the regional final. “When we lost (to Newport Harbor), we were like ‘Well, we weren’t playing the best’ but it was, ‘OK, this one game doesn’t really define us and we can still learn and grow.’ “

“We came together really, really well for our last game, which is our goal,” she added. “For me, it was how can I play the role that my team needs.”

Cohen, 17, credits her perspective to her faith.

“For a while, I had a lot of worrying about games and my performance,” she said. “(My faith) has helped me be super-grounded and know this is the gift that God has given me so I need to use it. Every time I play, (I) work for him.”

COACH OF THE YEAR

Denise Osorio, Anaheim

The fifth-year coach guided the Colonists to the CIF-SS Division 6 title, the school’s first team championship in a girls sport.

Mentoring players who entered high school with limited water polo experience, Osorio led Anaheim (12-11) to playoff wins against Edgewood, Indio, top-seeded La Quinta of La Quinta and Nordhoff in the final.

Anaheim’s Denise Osorio is the Orange County girls water polo coach of the year for the 2024-25 season. Osorio was the Orange County boys water polo coach of the year in 2023. (Courtesy of Tom Bateman)

The Colonists’ roster featured 14 seniors. “So proud of these girls (and) how hard they worked,” Osorio said after a 5-3 victory against Nordhoff in the finals.

Osorio was named in the Division 6 coach of the year. In 2023, she was selected The Register’s boys water polo coach of the year after leading the program to its first playoff win in almost 50 years and its first appearance in a section final.

ALL-COUNTY FIRST TEAM

Allison Cohen, Orange Lutheran, Jr. (Player of the year)

Gabby Alexson, Newport Harbor, So.

The center, who was selected co-MVP of the Sunset League, scored the game-winning goal in double sudden-death overtime against Orange Lutheran in the CIF-SS Open Division semifinals.

Kara Carver, Laguna Beach, Sr.

The USC commit led the Division 1 champions in goals (73), tied a school single-match record with seven assists and tallied 57 steals.

Presley Jones, Laguna Beach, Sr.

The Pacific Coast League MVP had 72 goals and led the Division 1 champions in assists (61) and steals (70). Jones, who is committed to UCLA, was selected Division 1 player of the year. She scored the game-winning goal in sudden-death overtime against San Clemente in the final.

Kirra Pantaleon, Mater Dei, Jr.

The All-CIF and All-Trinity League attacker earned MVP at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions. She scored five goals in a win against Orange Lutheran in the finals of the Newport Invite. She finished with 96 goals, 42 assists and 45 steals.

Kyla Pranajaya, Orange Lutheran, Sr., GK

The San Diego State commit blocked a 7-on-6 shot in the final seconds to help the Lancers defend their Trinity League title. She also blocked a penalty shot early in the Lancers’ win in the regional final.

Jailynn Robinson, Orange Lutheran, Sr.

The UCLA commit, who was the O.C. player of the year in 2023-24, earned first-team All-Trinity League and All-CIF Open Division honors. She had two goals, two assists and three steals in the regional final.

Reagan Weir, Corona del Mar, Sr.

The Stanford-bound center scored 103 goals and drew 56 exclusions. Weir netted five goals and drew two exclusions against Open Division champion Oaks Christian in the playoffs.

ALL-COUNTY SECOND TEAM

Phoebe DeMoss, San Clemente, Sr.

Didi Evans, Corona del Mar, Sr.

Delaney Hook, Mater Dei, So.

Brooke Knisely, Beckman, Jr.

Ashley Kwan, Foothill, Sr.

Emerson Mulvey, Newport Harbor, So.

Sienna Sorensen, Mater Dei, Jr., GK

Michelle Urkov, Orange Lutheran, Sr.

ALL-COUNTY THIRD TEAM  

Madilyn Ekstrom, Rosary, Sr.

Riley Johnson, Mater Dei, Jr.

Chloe Patist, Foothill, Sr.

Sloane Paulson, JSerra, Jr.

Harper Price, Newport Harbor, Sr.

Maggie Ryan, Mater Dei, So.

Lydia Soderberg, Newport Harbor, Sr., GK

Valery Verdugo, Newport Harbor, So.

ALL-COUNTY FOURTH TEAM 

Emma Chagollan, Buena Park, Sr.

Lily Franzese, Huntington Beach, Jr.

Elizabeth Gaetano, El Toro, Sr.

Lauren Jacobsen, Sunny Hills, Jr.

Siena Jumani, Laguna Beach, Sr., GK

Talyn Pelkey, San Clemente, Sr.

Hailey Rippeon, Los Alamitos, Jr.

Sareen Sardarian, Woodbridge, Jr.

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