Boys water polo: El Toro defeats Tars, 16-7

Richard Dunn

LAKE FOREST - For the Sea View League champion Newport Harbor High

boys water polo team, this week’s two nonleague exams are a prelude to

the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs.

Tuesday’s first test didn’t go so well for Coach Jason Lynch’s Sailors

(12-12). They lost to host El Toro, 16-7, in a nonleague game that

probably wasn’t as close as the score indicates.

“There were zero positives,” Lynch said. “That was just a pathetic

performance. I have no idea what the reasoning is.”

For defending CIF Division I champion Newport Harbor, this is not a

good thing with the playoffs starting next week.

“That’s one of the weaker Newport teams I’ve ever seen,” said longtime

El Toro Coach Don Stoll, whose squad (18-8) outscored the Tars in the

first three quarters, respectively, 5-1, 4-1 and 4-1.

The Sailors featured freshman goalie Michael Robinson (six saves)

playing his initial varsity contest in the second, third and fourth

quarters. But El Toro had too many weapons.

“The only positive was Robinson in goal,” said Lynch, whose team led,

1-0, for 30 seconds, before the Chargers scored seven straight goals

(including five unanswered in the first quarter).

“(Robinson) never played in a varsity game before in his life.

(Tuesday) we called him up (from frosh/soph), because we were getting no

production out of any other goalkeeper. He’s going to be the man. I’d say

(he’s going to start in the playoffs) ... (Robinson) had never played

water polo before (this year). There was no age-group polo. He’s super

raw, but he’s 6-foot-2 and definitely has some potential.”

With an abbreviated league schedule already wrapped up, the Tars have

two quality Division I opponents this week: South Coast League El Toro,

which is ranked No. 4 in the Southern California region by The Times and

No. 3 in Orange County, and Capistrano Valley, the Tars’ nonleague foe

Friday at home, which is No. 9 in the county.

“It’s an important game for me (Friday),” said Lynch, who coached at

Capo Valley for seven years, before accepting the Newport job this year

(replacing Brian Kreutzkamp), “but I don’t know if any of my players will

have the same sentiments ... Capo Valley (11-11) is not bad. (The

Cougars) lost to El Toro, 12-3, but they’re also in Division I and we

could get them in the playoffs, because we’re a first-place team and

they’re a third-place team (in the South Coast).”

El Toro, which defeated Newport Harbor, 11-7, in the South Coast

Tournament earlier this season (after leading 10-4), scored from all

angles in the first half, including a goal with 0:07 left in the first

quarter by El Toro goalie Jeremy Randall, who launched one the length of

the tank to give the Chargers a 5-1 lead.

“(The Sailors) were really strong last year when they won CIF, but

they graduated 12 seniors and these guys do not have much experience,”

Stoll said.

Sophomore two-meter player Michael Bury, who led Newport Harbor with

four goals, scored the game’s first goal with 4:51 left in the first

quarter on the counterattack.

But El Toro’s Chris Allen (three goals) tied it, 1-1, with 4:21 on the

clock and Matt Grace (three goals) scored an extra-man goal with 2:19

left in the first quarter to give the hosts a 2-1 edge.

Allen added an extra-man goal with 1:30 left, Grace scored again with

0:29 to play and Randall put the icing on the first-quarter cake with his

powerful, full-tank shot.

Geoff Wright, who led El Toro with four goals, scored three in a row

to close out the second quarter, giving the Chargers a commanding 9-2

lead at the intermission.

El Toro built its lead to 12-2 in the third quarter, before Newport

Harbor’s Charlie Hockenberry (two goals) scored from the hole on a pass

from Bury, who also had two assists.

NONLEAGUE

El Toro 16, Newport Harbor 7

Newport Harbor 1 1 1 4 - 7

El Toro 5 4 4 3 - 16

Newport - Bury 4, Hockenberry 2, Weiner 1. Saves - Robinson 6.

El Toro - G. Wright 4, A. Wright 3, Grace 3, Allen 3, Pierson 1,

George 1, Randall 1. Saves - Randall 11.