El Toro Makes Quick Work of Visiting Westlake, 15-4

El Toro High's girls water polo team cruised to a 15-4 victory over Westlake in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs on Thursday afternoon at El Toro High.

The Chargers used a 7-0 second quarter to take control of the game, led by three goals from Allison Skaggs in the period. Senior attacker Justine Morgan had a game-high seven goals, while Taylor Adair added three and Karen Henry had two. Goalie Emily Browning had 13 saves to anchor the defense.

After leading 2-1 at the end of the first quarter, the Chargers opened the second period with three goals in the first three minutes, while their defense put the clamps on Westlake’s attack. Charger coach Daniel “Racc” Julson said his team has worked hard throughout the season on improving its defense. It worked well against Westlake.

“I think they were just having trouble being overwhelmed by our swarm and not able to get a lot of high-quality shots off,” Julson said of Westlake.

Julson said his team will need to maintain its competitive edge if it hopes to continue to advance. While their defense is likely to be key in their success, on offense, the Chargers will look to spread the ball around and get goals from multiple players.

“We just have to keep pressing on,” he said.

El Toro (20-9), runner-up in the South Coast League, plays host to third-seeded Corona Santiago (22-3), the Big VIII League's champion, in a quarterfinal match Saturday at 1 p.m.