Downey goalie Maya Jennings blocks a penalty shot as they play El Toro in their CIF semifinal girls water polo match at Downey High School on Tuesday. Downey defeated El Toro 12-7. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)

DOWNEY — For the second time in the last eight years, the Downey High School girls water polo team has returned to the CIF South Section Championship game.

The Vikings, with a balanced scoring attack, defeated the visiting El Toro Chargers, 12-7, Tuesday (Feb. 18) in the D2 semifinals.

Downey, which improved to 22-4 overall, will play Murrieta Valley (27-12), a 9-4 winner over El Segundo in the other semifinal, Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College. Game time is 4:30 pm

For the Vikings, it will be their fourth appearance in the CIF title game since 2005.

They won back-to-back titles in 2005-06 and finished as runner up in 2018.

In the ’05 championship game, coach Sean Steward led the Vikings to a 10-5 win over Corona Centennial in DVI, while the ’06 team defeated El Segundo, 5-3, under coach Peter Muller also in DVI.

This will be the second appearance for Downey coach Uriel Villa in the title game, as the Vikings finished as a runner up in the 2018 contest, losing 9-8 to Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.

Villa, who took over the program in 2017, has led his teams in the playoffs multiple times. They were last in the semifinals in 2022. It was the fourth semi for the girls in the eight years for Villa.

Coach Villa once said of the boys program, “We want to bring the winning culture back to the program.”

The boys were a strong program in the 60’s and has now built the girls into that very same tradition.

Villa mentioned the importance of balanced scoring in the win over El Toro.

“I feel like that’s what made the difference for us,” said Villa, who has been a part of six championship appearances and wins as a player, assistant coach and head coach through the years with boys and girls.

“They thought they shut down who they thought was our best player and we had a few other girls that stepped up big and put the shots away.

“They (El Toro) didn’t expect us to attack from both sides of the pool.

“These girls have made both the quarters and semi’s and they have that experience and memories and they lost and knows what it feels like to get that far and lose. They have grown a lot together. Those last three seasons have prepared us for this season. We still have one big one remaining.”

The Vikings, winners of 20 in a row and 20 of the last 22 games, had a balanced scoring attack with seven players scoring goals.

Leading the way was junior attacker Alia De La Mora (4 shot attempts) with three goals, followed by three players with two – senior attacker Alyson Rouse (2 attempts), freshman wing Aura Fagiani (3 attempts) and sophomore attacker Marissa Fierro (4 steals, 2 attempts) – and seniors Berlynn Mani (2 attempts), Aleaha Gonzalez (6 attempts) and Chloe Gonzalez (4 attempts) with one goal each.

“I feel really good,” De La Mora said. “The team chemistry is amazing. I can trust who I’m playing with to score.

“I’m so excited because in my freshman year we lost in the semi’s and it’s kind of like redemption.”

Leading the way for El Toro (22-9) was Elizabeth Gaetano with three goals, followed by junior attacker Catalina Abdella with two and single goals by junior attacker Kate Rhodenbaugh and senior attacker Elizabeth Anderson.

The Vikings took a 3-0 lead in the opening period on consecutive goals by De La Mora and a goal by Mani.

The first goal at 3:36 was a lob to the corner on a six on five advantage from De La Mora.

“In club, they were teaching me how to lob and it’s been a year since I learned how to lob and got good at it,” De La Mora said.

“That first goal was very important because it gives my team confidence and it’s possible to score. You never want to underestimate an opponent.

“This is a big step for us to get to the finals.”

De La Mora scored her second goal to give Downey a 2-0 lead 26 seconds later.

Mani, who was passing back and forth with De La Mora, scored in close to lead, 3-0, at the 2:01 mark of the period.

Both teams picked up the scoring pace in the second period with four goals each.

The Chargers first goal came on a 5-meter shot taken by Gaetano at 5:47 to trail 3-1.

They closed the gap to one a minute later on the first of two goals by Abdella.

De La Mora took a pass from Mani, who was in close by the goal, and tossed it out to her for a six on five goal to lead, 4-2, (4:13).

Another lob shot by the Vikings to the corner of the goal by Aleaha Gonzalez gave them a three-goal cushion, 5-2 (3:31)

Each team scored a pair of goals to end the half, as the Vikings led 7-4.

Early in the third period (6:38), Downey senior goalie Maya Jennings made a big block on a Chargers 5-meter shot.

Less than a minute later the Vikings took a four-goal lead, 8-4, on the first of two goals by Rouse. It was the third six on five goals for the Vikings. The long assist came from De La Mora.

The largest lead of the game so far came on a 5-meter score by Fierro with 3:49 left in the third period for the 9-4 lead.

El Toro, not giving up, came right back with a goal from Rhodenbaugh 25 seconds later from Gaetano into the left corner to trail, 9-5.

With her second goal of the period, Rouse scored on another Downey lob that went over the El Toro goalies outstretched hands for another five-goal lead, 10-5, with one minute left.

With just 41 seconds left in the period Gaetano’s third goal of the game came on a push shot to trail, 10-6.

But perhaps the defensive play of the game by Jennings came at the buzzer to stop El Toro’s Natalia Sanudo.

“That really stacked the momentum in our favor and gave us the momentum going into the fourth quarter,” said Villa, of the block. “That was huge.”

That momentum carried over to the final period for Jennings, as she made several saves down the stretch, along with a big field block by Fierro with under a minute left.

“Honestly, going off the first quarter, I was very nervous,” Jennings said. I feel like that first block I was very confident and how we started playing afterwards brough up my confidence.

“That early lead (3-0) gives a little leeway to slow down the game a little bit.”

On the big fourth period blocks, Jennings said with a smile, “It was all about my positioning.

“It’s the best to go to the finals getting past the semifinals.”

Anderson scored an early fourth-period Chargers goal to climb within three goals, 10-7, but Chloe Gonzalez was all alone for the score on a pass from Fierro at the 5:15 mark, who also scored just over a minute later to build back a five-goal, 12-7, lead from outside on an assist from De La Mora.

“I do feel good going to the championship,” Chloe Gonzalez said. “I think it’s really special to have a coach with so much experience and especially growing up with such a decorated sister in Brenda Villa. That’s a lot to learn from and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”

What they said:

Alyssa Villa, Downey Asst. coach – “It’s a strong foundation for their comradery and they are all very close. They read each other really well. (Mani and De La Mora) are very good at reading and scanning and recognizing opportunities. They are munchkins but they are some of our fastest girls on the team. They are just endless energy.

“It feels good to get back to the championship. It’s a team effort and the balanced scoring is important.

“In the quarterfinal against Woodbridge, we had multiple girls score.”

Note: Coach Alyssa has been in the program since the beginning with head coach Uriel Villa and got married last year.

Aleaha Gonzalez, Downey Sr. attacker – “Honestly, (going to the championship) means so much to me because I started on varsity all four years and it’s nice to see all of our success and hard work pay off just to make it to the championship together.

“All of my girls have spent countless hours in and out of the pool and just the recognition we deserve for those hours.”

Vikings advance to CIF Championship game