ROUNDUP : San Clemente Water Polo Rolls to Villa Park Title

San Clemente and El Toro, among the top water polo teams in the South Coast League, got a good look at each other Saturday at the Villa Park tournament.

San Clemente, the No. 2-ranked team in Orange County, defeated El Toro, 12-3, in the championship game at Villa Park High School.

San Clemente (10-1) took a 4-0 lead in the first quarter and extended it to 9-0 in the third. Senior Jeremy Laster scored five goals and Bryce Matthews added four.

The Tritons held El Toro (7-5) scoreless until early in the fourth quarter when Bernie Kim scored the Chargers’ first goal on a pass from Daniel Mathot.

San Clemente goalkeeper Pat Ortiz, a senior who played on the junior varsity last year, had 10 saves for the Tritons.

El Toro Coach Don Stoll says San Clemente, known for a strong defense, is a team to be reckoned with.

“San Clemente is as strong a team as you see anywhere,” said Stoll, who guided the Chargers to the Southern Section Division 4-A title last season. “They have a talented team, good players, a good goalie and no weaknesses. They are one of the most dominant teams.”

Last season, San Clemente defeated El Toro, 12-11, in league play, but El Toro won the 4-A title after San Clemente lost to Corona del Mar, 9-8, in the quarterfinals.

San Clemente avenged that loss this year by beating Corona del Mar, 7-6, in a nonleague match Sept. 12. Then Corona del Mar defeated San Clemente, 13-6, in the championship game of the South Coast tournament Sept. 28.

San Clemente Coach Steve Yancey was disappointed by his team’s performance in the title game of that tournament.

“They played so poorly against Corona del Mar,” Yancey said. “The main thing that I tell my players is to keep playing aggressively and focus on one game at a time.

“You just can’t sit back and say you’re going to win. I told them I’m tired of talking about CIF--you have to show me. I think we were too satisfied after the first game against Corona del Mar.”