No. 5 Foothill Settles Down, Wins

Foothill shook off its opening-game jitters and rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat El Toro, 13-10, in nonleague boys’ water polo Tuesday at El Toro High.

The Knights, the fifth-ranked team in the county, struggled with ball control and movement in the first half, and fell behind No. 6 El Toro, 7-5, at the half.

“We played like it was our first game,” Knight Coach Jim Brumm said. “The kids were really nervous and excited to play. But they settled down.

“I liked the competitive nature they showed. We were down and not playing well, but they never folded.”

Brumm changed the defense in the second half to help stop El Toro’s two-meter player Brett McCleave, who scored four first-half goals. Foothill was able to hold him to two in the second half, while his Knight counterpart, Brian Alexander, started attacking, scoring five of his six goals. His four consecutive goals in the third quarter, gave the Knights the lead for good at 10-8.

“They were a lot more physical and played a lot better defense in the second half,” said El Toro’s Danny Peirson. “We came out with the lead, but they came on strong. They are a really good team and they played really well.”

The Chargers had two six-on-five opportunities in the second half, but quick shots and two strong saves by Foothill goalkeeper Ian Elliott ended the advantage. Elliott, who has been practicing with the Knights for only a week after returning from Venezuela, where he competed with the junior national team, had 11 saves. Six came in the fourth quarter, when El Toro outshot Foothill, 9-5.

Senior driver Wes Fox added five goals for the Knights. He pulled the Knights to within 7-5 at the half, when he stole the ball from Travis Patterson at mid-pool and drove into the two-meter zone, hammering a shot past El Toro goalkeeper Jeremy Randall. He also opened the scoring in the third quarter, skipping the ball into the corner of the goal to close the gap to 7-6.