El Toro Wins Its Second Consecutive 3-A Championship

A little rest and relaxation was all the El Toro High School water polo team needed.

The Chargers got the rest during the week. The relaxation began Wednesday, moments after the Chargers defeated Capistrano Valley, 12-8, at the Belmont Plaza Pool to win their second consecutive Southern Section 3-A water polo championship.

“We followed the same plan we used last season,” El Toro Coach Don Stoll said. “We didn’t lift any weights and we didn’t have any morning workouts through the playoffs. We wanted the kids to be rested.”

The Chargers scored three goals in the first 84 seconds and led, 5-0, after one quarter.

Normally a fast-paced team, Capistrano Valley (27-2) got only one goal off its transition game.

Goalie Erik Terwilliger made saves on three other Cougar counter-attacks.

“That’s their whole offense,” said El Toro’s Ken Nickel, who scored a game-high five goals. “We knew if we could take that away, we would win. Even when we were on offense, we were thinking defense.”

The Cougars did pull to within three early in the fourth quarter on Kevin Eggert’s third goal of the game. But Nickel followed with two goals within 35 seconds.