After a hard-fought 7-6 victory over Harvard-Westlake on Tuesday, the Dos Pueblos boys water polo team knew it was going to have its hands full with El Toro, the No. 1 team in Division I, in the CIF quarterfinals on Friday.
The Chargers (23-6) showed they still had plenty of fight left in them, however, giving the Orange County powerhouse from Lake Forest a stiff challenge before coming up short, 14-12.
“We played great,” said DP head coach Chris Parrish, who still hopes his team will get an at-large bid to the Master’s Tournament played at the end of the month.
Seniors Ian Kistler and Derrick Graham scored three and one goals, respectively in what might be their final high school matches. Sophomores Chase Racich and Kevin Cappon led the Chargers with four goals apiece.
Parrish singled out Conner Cleary for his defensive play on El Toro’s three-meter man.
“(Cleary) did great guarding their three-meter man,” specified Parrish. “We played pretty good defense despite the goals allowed.”
“They just have spectacular talent.”
DP was down 9-4 at half and 13-8 at the end of the third period before rallying in the final frame. Parrish said a couple of ejections helped, but the Chargers just ran out of time.
