Foothill, Lovero beat El Toro in OT (updated)

The upcoming Division I boys water playoffs were already highly anticipated, but Foothill still found a way Wednesday to inject even more drama and intensity.

The Knights, ranked sixth in the division and seventh in Orange County, survived a late two-man advantage chance by top-ranked El Toro to post an 11-10 victory in overtime in the Sea View League championship match.

In the final frantic seconds of the Division I showdown, the host Chargers (24-2, 4-1) went on the power play when Foothill (20-6, 5-0) was whistled for interfering with Griffin White's free shot outside 5 meters.

The exclusion on Paul Reynolds was called with four seconds remaining, but El Toro quickly went on a two-man advantage because Foothill goalie Jay Lovero, who blocked the shot, also was excluded for pushing the ball away afterward.

El Toro's Nick Rascon unleashed a shot near 5 meters, but Foothill's Paul Pickell blocked it in the field. Tyler Westerfield grabbed the rebound and fired the ball into the net, but it was ruled that time had expired before the goal.

“We've been wanting this for a long time,” said Lovero, who had a career-high 23 saves. “We wanted it more.”

El Toro was in contention for a top-two seed in a division that features 10 legitimate contenders.

Said Foothill coach Jim Brumm of the parity, "It's great for water polo."

The El Toro side argued after the match that Westerfield's goal beat the clock.

El Toro coach Don Stoll wasn't sure if the clock was managed correctly in the final seconds but concluded, "Those things aren't the reason you lose games."

Lovero was sharp early, making nine saves in the first period. He highlighted the period with an almost point-blank stop against White on a breakaway.

“That doesn't happen very often,” Stoll said of the denial. “Lovero was very good and he got us back on our heels.”

Foothill's Brenden Verloop seized on the early momentum by scoring the first goal in the match about a minute later on no-look flip shot over his head. Conor Golden got the assist with a nice pass toward Verloop's head.

Verloop finished with a breakout performance. The senior scored four goals, including three from 2 meters. Fellow senior Clayton McFadden, best known for his center defense, also had four goals. Reynolds, an impressive sophomore, added three goals.

Foothill almost won the game in regulation. But with six seconds left, White scored on a free shot from just outside 5 meters to tie the score, 9-9. Foothill took 9-8 lead on a spectacular sweep-shot goal from Verloop with 17 seconds left in the fourth. Verloop's goal blasted in off the bottom of the cross bar.

Foothill scored the first two goals of overtime to take control. “The kids came back in overtime,” Brumm said. “They never gave up.”

With the Chargers falling, league champions Foothill and Los Alamitos appear to be the front-runners to receive the top-two seeds for the Division I playoffs.

In the Trinity League:

Santa Margarita 14, No. 8 JSerra 12 (OT): Rutger Choquehuanca and Ross Kirkbaumer scored in the second overtime and goalie Thomas Husen made 16 saves as the host Eagles (12-16, 2-2) forced a three-way tie for second with the Lions (17-9, 2-2) and Servite (15-13, 2-2).

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com