El Toro Prevails in Overtime : Water polo: Brent Stoll again is the hero in sudden death as Chargers edge Corona del Mar, 10-9, in Division I title game.

Sudden-death overtime in a championship water polo game isn’t always a time for nervy confidence, but El Toro’s Brent Stoll has been there before.

Last season, Stoll assisted on a goal that gave the Chargers a Southern Section Division I title. Wednesday he scored 25 seconds into sudden death to give El Toro a 10-9 victory over Corona del Mar at Belmont Plaza.

It was the fifth Southern Section title in six seasons for the Chargers (28-2), who increased their playoff winning streak to 22 games.

The parallels to last season were numerous. The score was the same, with El Toro beating North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, 10-9, for the 1992 title. For the second year in a row, Jay Reaves won the sprint at the start of sudden death and Stoll got the ball. Last year Stoll passed up the shot and passed to John Simmons; this time he passed to Brandon Stout at two meters, but Stout tossed it back out after a foul and Stoll put it in from seven meters.

“This year I knew it was going to be me, and I just took it,” Stoll said. “I had no choice.”

The goal, Stoll’s second of the game, completed a remarkable comeback by the top-seeded Chargers.

No. 2 Corona del Mar (27-3) led, 5-1, at one point in the first quarter.

El Toro was having problems passing and took many ill-advised shots. The Sea Kings shut out the Chargers in the second quarter and led, 6-2, at the half.

“It wasn’t bad; it was horrible,” said El Toro Coach Don Stoll, father of Brent and sophomore goalkeeper Greg. “I told my guys at halftime that they were embarrassing their school and embarrassing themselves.”

When Corona del Mar’s Neil Hueston scored on a man-advantage situation with 4 minutes 49 seconds left in the third quarter, the Sea Kings seemed to be on the verge of swimming away with Coach John Vargas’ fifth title in seven championship-game appearances.

But El Toro then scored seven consecutive goals to take a 9-7 lead with 2:54 remaining in regulation. The tiebreaking goal was set up by a perfectly place long pass from Greg Stoll to Kevin McIntyre, who had only goalie Doug Jetton to beat. The next one came after a pass from Matt Tilton to Reaves, who was inside his defender at two meters.

The Sea Kings countered on goals by Thad Buzolich and Kevin Tucker, and it was tied, 9-9, at 1:18.

Then the defenses took over, until Brent Stoll got a chance to take the shot he passed on last year.