PREP ROUNDUP : El Toro Handles Corona del Mar in Water Polo

In a nonleague water polo match that El Toro Coach Don Stoll called “over-hyped,” his top-ranked Chargers overpowered sixth-ranked Corona del Mar, 12-5, Tuesday at Corona Del Mar High.

For the first five minutes of the match, Corona del Mar stayed even with El Toro (2-0), the No. 1-ranked team in Orange County.

But El Toro broke open a scoreless tie with a 49-second scoring blitz to close the first quarter.

Daniel Mathot, who scored a match-high five goals, scored his first with 49 seconds remaining in the first quarter to give El Toro a 1-0 lead. Brandon Stout scored 28 seconds later, and John Simmons scored at the buzzer for a 3-0 lead.

El Toro used a pressing defense to stifle the Sea Kings’ offense throughout the match. This was most evident in the second quarter, when the Chargers outscored Corona del Mar, 5-2, to take an 8-2 halftime lead.

El Toro led by as many as seven goals in the second half and was never threatened.

“I didn’t want the kids to make this their biggest game of the season,” Stoll said. “It’s not even a league game. . . . and that’s all this is, just a game. I wanted them to have fun.”

Brian Codori and Crosby Grant led Corona del Mar with two goals each. Stout and Simmons each scored twice for El Toro.