SOUTHERN SECTION 4-A WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP : San Clemente Wins All-South Coast Final

LONG BEACH —  San Clemente won its first Southern Section water polo title by defeating Capistrano Valley, 9-5, for the Division 4-A title Wednesday night at Belmont Plaza.

The Tritons, who reached the final in 1986 and 1988, avenged a 9-5 loss to Capistrano Valley in South Coast League play this season.

Capistrano Valley won the league championship, while San Clemente finished third and opened the playoffs in a wild-card game.

But Wednesday, the Tritons (27-4) dominated with a stifling defense, holding Capistrano Valley (25-5) to one goal in the first half and coming within eight seconds of shutting out the Cougars in the fourth quarter.

The Triton defense forced many turnovers and when it broke down slightly, goalkeeper Pat Ortiz was usually there to make the stop. Ortiz finished with seven saves.

“I said defense was going to be the key and that was the key,” San Clemente Coach Steve Yancey said. “We executed our defense perfectly.

“Jeremy (Laster) controlled the tempo of the game on defense and on the offensive end it was Bryce Matthews.”

Matthews scored three goals in the third quarter and San Clemente maintained a two-goal lead, 6-4, entering the fourth quarter.

At that point, the Triton defense took over. Capistrano Valley controlled the ball after the opening sprint and Alex Lesser took a shot that hit the post.

But San Clemente made steals on the next four Cougar possessions. After a Sean Lane steal, Todd Pelkey scored to give the Tritons a 7-4. Laster made it 8-4 with 3 minutes 15 seconds remaining after a steal by Tim Hornig.

“That buried them,” Laster said.

About a minute later, Pelkey scored again to give the Tritons a 9-4 lead with 2:02 left. Laster, a senior who is the youngest member of the U.S. junior national team, won the head-to-head battle with Jeremy Braxton-Brown, a junior who was the South Coast League’s most valuable player.

Braxton-Brown scored his only goal of the match and the Cougars’ only goal of the first half on a powerful backhand with Laster guarding him.

However, Braxton-Brown was limited on defense because he picked up his second personal foul early in the second quarter. He was ejected for his third foul--elbowing Laster in the face--with 2:23 left to play.

“The kid wasn’t league player of the year,” Yancey bellowed as Laster picked up his championship medal. “But he’s the CIF player of the year.”