Showdown in South Coast: Capistrano Valley vs. El Toro
The South Coast League title showdown between fifth-ranked Capistrano Valley, the preseason favorite, and ninth-ranked El Toro on Thursday at El Toro highlights a week of top matchups in girls’ water polo.
Capistrano Valley is coming off Friday’s victory over Newport Harbor and is playing as well as it has all season.
Amber Stachowski scored four goals to highlight the 9-4 victory and her sister Aimee, a freshman, added two.
Freshman goalie Meridith McColl also sparkled against Newport Harbor, and the Cougars’ overall performance had Coach Jason Lynch excited about this week’s showdown with El Toro.
“They [the Chargers] were here filming the [Newport Harbor] game,” Lynch said. “I guess we gave them plenty to look at.”
But this game is by no means a gimme for the Cougars. With a stingy defense, led by Ke’ala Carter and goalie Amanda Deatherage, the Chargers are dangerous and have proven it with a victory over then-top-ranked Villa Park two weeks ago.
On Saturday, El Toro scored a 9-7 victory over Coronado, a team that has defeated Capistrano Valley. Although El Toro also lost to top-ranked Irvine last week, 6-2, Charger Coach Don Stoll’s enthusiasm isn’t dampened.
“I thought we outplayed Irvine but I think they have the best goalie in the country,” Stoll said, referring to Vaquero senior Kelly Graff. “We drew seven kickouts but just couldn’t get anything past her.
“We’re playing well. Capo probably has the edge with the Stachowski sisters, but we’ll show up.”
OTHER BIG GAMES
Friday features two other county top-10 battles as No. 1 Irvine hosts No. 7 Marina and No. 2 Foothill plays at No. 6 Newport Harbor.
Irvine should provide a great measuring stick and tuneup for Marina, which plays fourth-ranked Esperanza next week in a game that will probably determine the Sunset League title.
Marina’s Cara Chlebicki and Erin Wilson were part of a team that won the Southern Section Division I title in 1998 and there’s no indication that the Vikings won’t be in the mix again this season.
Senior Emi Umezawa leads a balanced attack for Irvine.
Newport Harbor wants to turn things around before the postseason arrives, and Foothill provides another opportunity.
After spending a good portion of the season at the No. 1 spot, Newport Harbor is 1-3 against county top-10 teams since Jan. 6.
Newport Harbor will need some help for Kyndra Cox if it hopes to knock off Foothill, a high-powered team led by Jackie Pirro and freshmen Gabbie Domanic, Brittany Hayes and goalie Emily Feher.
In another key matchup, Neisha Hoagland leads Cypress into an Empire League game Wednesday at El Dorado.
THE BEST OF THE BEST
Next weekend’s Southern California Championships tournament hosted by Irvine High will boast another strong field this season with all of Orange County’s top 10 teams participating.
Also included is Long Beach Wilson, which won the tournament in 1998, and defending Southern Section Division II champion Santa Barbara, which won its own high-powered tournament recently.
“I think Santa Barbara is the team to beat,” Irvine Coach Scott Hinman said.
The 32-team tournament at Heritage Park in Irvine begins Feb. 4 with the quarterfinals Feb. 5 and the semifinals and final Feb. 6. The final is 3 p.m. on Feb. 6.
If you have an item or idea for the girls’ water polo report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us at:
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
