Mater Dei challenged, wins with strong finish

IRVINE - Mater Dei’s pursuit of a second consecutive CIF-SS Division 1 boys water polo title and an undefeated season finally encountered four quarters of sustained resistance Saturday night.

El Toro and veteran coach Don Stoll placed their trust in goalie Garrett Danner and employed a sagging defense that forced several perimeter shots that were blocked.

But after a season of one lopsided victory after another, Mater Dei showed it could also perform under pressure with the outcome on the line in the fourth period.

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Sophomore attacker James Walters scored on the man-advantage with 17 seconds left to seal an 8-5 victory for the top-seeded Monarchs in front of a large crowd at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center.

Mater Dei finished 31-0 and became the first Orange County team to claim four consecutive section titles since Newport Harbor from 1977-1980 (the Monarchs won Division 2 titles in 2008-09).

“They responded,” Mater Dei coach Chris Segesman said of his team’s play in the fourth period. “I told them just how proud I was of them.”

Mater Dei had possession leading, 6-5, with less than a minute left in the fourth. Walters’ older brother, Jon, drew a 20-second exclusion with 39 seconds left, setting the stage for James’ goal. James found a high corner on a cross-cage shot from about 5 meters just as El Toro was coming to full strength.

James said he became a scoring option after third-seeded El Toro (28-4) pressed Mater Dei’s leading-scorer, Bret Bonanni.

“It flew right off my fingers,” James Walters said of the shot.

Bonanni scored an empty-net goal just before the final buzzer but the game was closer than the final tally suggests. Segesman wasn’t surprised.

“I just knew how good El Toro was in championship situations, said Segesman, whose team edged El Toro, 11-10, in the 2010 Division 1 final.

El Toro almost tied the score, 6-6, but with 59 seconds left, its man-advantage goal was disallowed because of an inside the 2-meters violation.

The Chargers finished 1 for 5 on the man-advantage; Mater Dei went 1 for 3.

The Chargers knotted the score, 5-5, on a cross-cage shot by Zach Nelson less than 30 seconds into the fourth period. But Jon Walters responded on Mater Dei’s ensuing possession, scoring on a sweep shot from center that turned out to be the winning goal.

Mater Dei goalie McQuin Baron made one of the biggest plays in the fourth, blocking a breakaway chance from 5 meters by El Toro's Joey Colton. The 6-foot-8 sophomore also used his head to block a good chance by Joey Fuentes in the fourth.

Baron finished with nine saves.

El Toro’s defensive strategy held Mater Dei to a season-low output. The Monarchs had not been held under 12 goals in a game.

Mater Dei freshman Nick Silvers, Bonanni and James Walters scored on Mater Dei’s first three shot attempts in the first but Danner got rolling and finished with 12 saves.

“He was spectacular,” Stoll said of Danner. “I told my team, ‘If you can hold them under 10, that will be a moral victory. But moral victories don’t win it, so you’re going to at least score eight.’ And we didn’t score eight.”

Segesman said the Monarchs game-planned to face the drop but still struggled on offense.

"We were shooting from 4 and 5 meters out all game," Segesman said. "Danner was the key (for El Toro)."

Mater Dei's defense also was strong. The Monarchs assigned James Walters to mark Fuentes and they held the high-scoring left-hander to one goal. Mater Dei also shut out El Toro in the first period.

"We came into this game focused on defense and that's exactly what we did," Bonanni said. "Team defense."

Senior Eric Silcock paced El Toro's attack with two goals.

"I'm so proud of my kids," Stoll said. "They did everything I asked them all year."