SOUTHERN SECTION WATER POLO PLAYOFF ROUNDUP : Bench Helps El Toro Edge San Clemente

The San Clemente and El Toro water polo teams have quite a bit in common.

Both come from the Southern Section’s dominant water polo league, the South Coast, and both have won section titles in the 1990s.

So when the teams met Friday in a Division I semifinal match, it was the slightest of differences that led to El Toro’s 13-11 victory at Belmont Plaza Pool.

The top-seeded Chargers (29-1) advanced to the title match at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday against third-seeded North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, which defeated Corona del Mar, 10-7. San Clemente, the defending champion, finished 22-8.

Unlike San Clemente, El Toro doesn’t have any players who would make a recruiter from a Division I college drool. But Charger Coach Don Stoll says his bench strength is unsurpassed.

“All I do is try to figure out the six guys who are playing well during a week and get them in the game,” Stoll said.

A case in point is John Simmons, a reserve who came off the bench to score two goals, the second of which virtually sealed the victory.

Simmons, who won the Southern Section 4-A swimming titles in the 100 freestyle and the 100 backstroke last spring, flew by his defender to score and give the Chargers a 12-10 lead with 2 minutes 25 seconds remaining.

“John is the fastest guy in CIF, and he decided he was going to do something himself,” Stoll said. “He decided to go for it.”

Daniel Mathot and Brandon Stout each scored three goals and Simmons and Matt Tilton each scored two for El Toro.

The league match between the teams was decided when Mathot scored for El Toro in sudden-death overtime. Friday’s match wasn’t so close, but it could have been.

San Clemente scored three quick goals in the fourth quarter to tie the score, 10-10, with 3:41 remaining. Tim Hornig scored two of the goals and assisted on the goal by Todd Pelkey that tied the score.

But El Toro took the lead seven seconds later when Stout scored on a quick pass from the hole.

El Toro now has won 17 consecutive playoff matches, a steak that spans four seasons. The Chargers won the Division 3-A championship in 1988 and ’89 and the Division 4-A title in 1990, before missing the playoffs last season.

In Division II:

Esperanza 6, Simi Valley Royal 4--Brandon Martinez scored three goals and goalkeeper Craig Thomas had nine saves.

Second-seeded Esperanza (26-3) advanced to the Division II title match at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Belmont. The Aztecs will play the winner of today’s match between top-seeded Whittier La Serna and Riverside Poly.

Third-seeded Royal (27-2) stayed within one or two goals of Esperanza, before the Aztecs took control in the third quarter.

Thomas, who made several saves on close-range shots, dominated the fourth quarter, allowing only an outside shot with 1:35 left.

In Division III:

Costa Mesa 11, Manhattan Beach Mira Costa 6--Top-seeded Costa Mesa scored eight consecutive goals in the second half to rally from a two-goal deficit.

Costa Mesa (23-8) advanced to the Division III title match at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Belmont. The Mustangs will play the winner of today’s match between Pacific Coast League rival Trabuco Hills and Santa Ynez.

Mira Costa (24-6) seemed to turn the tide by outscoring Costa Mesa, 4-0, in the second quarter for a 5-3 lead.

But Sam Grayeli scored all four of his goals in the second half and J.R. Poter, who also scored four times in the match, had three second-half goals.