El Toro earns showdown with Mater Dei in final

IRVINE – Garrett Danner's timing could not have been much better this time against Newport Harbor.

The El Toro goalie came out of his cage to make a steal at 2 meters with about 12 seconds left to help the third-seeded Chargers seal a 10-9 victory against the No. 2 seed Sailors in the CIF Division 1 semifinals Wednesday night at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center.

About a month ago, Newport Harbor edged El Toro by the same score on a goal with 15 seconds left in which Danner was beat charging from his net.

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This time, El Toro (28-3) called a timeout with 12 seconds left after Danner's steal and ran out the clock. The Chargers will play top-seeded and defending champion Mater Dei (30-0) in the finals for the second consecutive season Saturday at Woollett at 7 p.m.

Newport Harbor called a timeout with 32 seconds and tried to cross-pass the ball into a driving Dan Stevens at center, but Danner came up with the ball.

"I was focused on the shot, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw their player wide open," Danner said. "I knew I had a better chance of taking it away from him than actually blocking it, so I was going to come out."

Danner and counterpart Koby Yokota wisely didn't leave their cages much. Both teams put on a dazzling display of outside shooting.

"I had to stay in the cage and block the shots," said Danner, who had 11 saves, including four against the man-advantage. "Didn't want to take that risk this time."

But the eventual winning goal arrived courtesy of an underwater play from veteran El Toro coach Don Stoll. After Newport Harbor's Farrel South blazed in a perimeter shot to trim El Toro's lead to 9-8, Stoll called timeout with 3:57 left in the fourth.

The Chargers then sent Joey Fuentes under water in the 2 meters area and the left-hander popped up to score with 3:47 left in the fourth. Fuentes unleashed a shot from just outside the post on the left-hander's side of the pool.

"It's just Don Stoll - that's all that is," Fuentes said of the play. "That's him, late at night, thinking up plays. ... He gets creative at times."

South added an impressive near-side, skip shot from the perimeter about a minute later but the Chargers held on. On the goal, South pulled up on a counterattack from 5 meters, and from the wing, appeared to skip the ball in off the top of the crossbar.

"There's a lot of talented guys in that pool," Fuentes said. "Farrel South puts on a show against the best goalie in the nation, Garrett Danner. Garrett played just as well. It's a clash of the titans."

El Toro never trailed. The Chargers opened a 5-1 lead earlier in the second period but by late in the third, led, 7-6, with 1:44 left. But Joey Colton blazed a perimeter shot in off the side post and Fuentes also on another outside shot with 50 seconds left.

El Toro's Eric Silcock made Newport Harbor (25-2) pay for playing a drop defense by scoring from the perimeter in the first and third period. Silcock and Fuentes each finished with three goals.

Yokota also finished with 11 saves.

"We came out 5-1," Newport Harbor coach Robert Lynn said. "I've got to hand it to El Toro. They're on fire. They're shooting on fire. ... No. 12 (Silcock) hurt us -- bad."

Lynn felt positive about his first season at Newport Harbor.

"I'm happy with the guys," he said. "I wanted them to break out that little mystic of too much pressure builds up. ... I feel like I let them down - I can't get them over this hump."

In the other Division 1 semifinal:

Mater Dei 19, Loyola of Los Angeles 4: Jon Walters scored six goals and goalie McQuin Baron made 13 saves as the Monarchs defeated the Cubs for the fourth time to extend their Southern Section and county record winning streak to 47.

Bret Bonanni, James Walters and Anthony Daboub each added three goals for Mater Dei, which reached its fifth consecutive section final (the Monarchs made Division 2 finals 2007-9).

Last season, Mater Dei and El Toro played four one-goal games, all of which ended, 11-10.

The Monarchs the Division 1 finale, 11-10, on a controversial, last-second goal.

"It's great," Bonanni said of the playing El Toro. "We'll be ready to go. We're hungry. We're firing. Everyone is pumped. (Mater Dei coach Chris Segesman) is ready. I'm ready. ... I just want another championship.

"I could be playing Newport. I could be playing Huntington. I could be playing anyone. It's just all about making sure that you have more goals than them (and) we stop them."

Loyola had no answer for stopping Mater Dei. The Monarchs scored the first three goals to force an early timeout by Loyola. Kent Inoue scored on the counterattack while James Walters scored from the perimeter and off a drive and pass by Daboub.

Mater Dei then scored four man-advantage goals in the second period to open an 11-2 lead at halftime. Jon Walters scored twice on extra in the second, including one in which he rose to slam in a cross pass from Inoue.

Mater Dei's defense, meanwhile, held high-scoring Chancellor Ramirez to two goals and shut out Trenton Ross, who was coming off a five-goal game against Huntington Beach in the quarterfinals.

"We played a really good game defensively," Segesman said. "This game ... was one of (our) better games."