CdM can’t cash in opportunities

CORONA DEL MAR — As the second half began Saturday afternoon, there was a sea of pink assembled in the far corner of the bleachers at Corona del Mar High.

The CdM boys’ water polo team was playing El Toro in a CIF Southern Section Division I quarterfinal game. Yet, simultaneously, the CdM girls’ team — with its bright pink jackets — was also taking team pictures.

Maybe it was a foreshadowing that the boys’ season was about to come to an end; the transition from fall sports to winter sports was beginning.

None of the players on the boys’ team wanted it to happen so soon, but it did, as the Sea Kings lost, 10-6, to the Chargers.

El Toro moves on to the Division I semifinals, where it will play Newport Harbor on Wednesday at Irvine High, while CdM loses in the quarterfinals for the second straight year.

But it was a strong effort in the loss for Corona del Mar (16-7). The Sea Kings played El Toro even, to a 3-3 tie, in the first quarter.

The Sea Kings even had the momentum, when sophomore Max Bergeson fired a goal from near mid-pool with five seconds left in the quarter.

Bergeson (two goals, three steals) scored twice in the quarter and Carter Taylor also scored for CdM. They helped ensure there would be no repeat of the teams’ nonleague game on Oct. 12, when El Toro (22-4) overwhelmed CdM, 18-7.

“The guys came in [after the first quarter] and were like, ‘We feel great,’ ” CdM Coach Barry O’Dea said. “I think they were feeling good, but we had a couple of lapses.”

Those lapses in the second quarter allowed El Toro to score four unanswered goals, taking a 7-3 lead into halftime.

El Toro senior Greg Zaccaro, who had a goal, three assists and three steals, said it was important for the Chargers to reassert themselves.

“They were more fired up than we were, but it definitely kicked in during the second quarter,” Zaccaro said. “We stepped it up. We knew that we needed to step up our defense. Defense leads to offense.”

Defensively, the Sea Kings did well to hold El Toro standout brothers Griffin and Spencer White to a goal each. Taylor, a junior, guarded Griffin White much of the game, while senior Chris Cottrell helped keep Spencer White in check.

“I think we had a really good defensive effort,” said CdM two-meter man Lucas Reynolds, who scored twice. “We shut down two of the best players in the division.”

CdM, which was held scoreless in each of the middle two quarters, also had its opportunities on offense. But the Sea Kings went just two for seven on their power-play opportunities.

The cause wasn’t helped by El Toro goalie Tommy O’Connell, who had a solid day and made nine saves.

“Six-on-fives have been our strength all year,” O’Dea said. “If we score just three or four more of those [six-on-fives], it’s probably a win for us here. It’s a game of opportunities and a game of bounces, and we didn’t get them today. But we played a great game ... I’m very proud of my team.

“We had so many quality looks on goal today,” he added. “Probably any other day, we make seven, eight, nine more of them than we did today.”

Both teams were scoreless in the third quarter, and the Sea Kings could never get closer than the four-goal deficit in the final quarter.

But O’Dea and his players will look to come back strong next year. The Sea Kings will have only two starters graduate — Cottrell and senior Evan Zepfel.

Cottrell said he was proud of the effort his team put forth.

“They outscored us on the scoreboard, but I felt like we created more opportunities,” Cottrell said. “Those opportunities just weren’t converted to goals. I felt like we had worked harder than they had to get those chances, but in the end the ball didn’t end up in the net.”

CIF Southern Section

Division I playoffs

Quarterfinal

El Toro 10, Corona del Mar 6

SCORE BY QUARTERS

ET – Renteria 3, Rascon 2, Freerks 2, G. White 1, S. White 1, G. Zaccaro 1. Saves – O’Connell 9.

CdM – Bergeson 2, Reynolds 2, Schiefer 1, Taylor 1. Saves – Anderson 6.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.