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Strong goaltending and timely scoring are often the winning formula in playoff water polo matches.

Beckman’s girls water polo team followed that recipe Saturday to earn the biggest victory in school history.

Goalie Megan Hashoul recorded a season-high 15 saves and fellow senior Akemi Nakachi scored two of her four goals in the fourth period to lead the Patriots past third-seeded Dana Hills 6-4 in a CIF Division 3 quarterfinal at Capistrano Valley High.

Beckman (17-9) will make its first appearance in the semifinals Wednesday when it takes on No. 2 seed and Pacific Coast League rival Woodbridge, also a first-time semifinalist.

“This is history for Beckman,” Nakachi said. “We’ve been wanting to play Woodbridge again. Our goal is to beat them.”

Hashoul helped seal the Beckman’s trip to the semifinals by blocking a penalty shot with 1:37 left in the fourth period to protect a 6-4 lead.

The two-year starter made 10 of her 15 saves in the second half to lead Beckman, which tied for third in league.

“That was her best game this season,” first-year Beckman girls coach Duje Grubisic said of Hashoul. “We have a good defensive team overall. We’re able to drop (an extra defender to center) and/or press the majority of the time. And when (Hashoul) has a good day and we have the drop, it just all comes together.”

Nakachi took care of the scoring in crunch time. The utility player beat 1-on-1 coverage at center for the first goal of the fourth period to extend Beckman’s lead to 5-3 with 6:05 left.

After Dana Hills’ Sadie Riester answered with a penalty strike about 2 1/2 minutes later, Nakachi scored on a power-play strike after Lana Armas drew the defense away from Nakachi.

Hashoul credited Beckman’s breakthrough season to Grubisic, who has guided the boys the past four seasons.

“Coach Duje trained the boys and he made us tough,” she said. “We knew were around the same level as (Dana Hills) so we knew that we had to try extra hard to make sure we were a little ahead.”

Dana Hills (21-9), the third-place team from the South Coast, outshot Beckman but struggled against Hashoul and had several shots hit the post. Senior Lily Verna led the Dolphins with two goals and three steals while junior Kate McCulloch added a goal and three steals for a junior-dominated team.

“No shortage of opportunities (for us),” Dana Hills coach Carrie Pierce said. “(The juniors) needed this championship-level experience to be able to pave the way forward (next year).”

Woodbridge, the undefeated Pacific Coast champion, defeated host 16-10 behind juniors Lindsay Cheung (five goals) and Yana Sadiq (four goals).

In other games, Corona del Mar (Division 1), Edison (Division 2) and San Juan Hills (Division 2) also reached the semifinals.

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