LA JOLLA -- For many water polo teams, losing a starting goalie can turn a potentially good team into an average one.

But many girls' water polo teams aren't Vista.

The Panthers, down starting goalie Candace Williams due to a broken finger, used a stiff defense to record a 17-4 nonleague win over Torrey Pines on Tuesday night at Canyonview Pool on the UC San Diego campus.

Stepping in for Williams was sophomore Heather Coutroupe, who stopped seven shots, had one steal and two assists on offense.

"It is very nice to have a backup goalie that can play as a starting goalie," said Vista coach Dave Spence. "And when she does come in, the team doesn't skip a beat."

Third-ranked Vista (4-0), the defending CIF San Diego Section Division I champion, recorded 18 steals and allowed 11 shots on goal.

"Our defense played a solid game," Spence said. "But we still have work to do. Our defense is where we want to get our identification from. We want to be known as a defense first type of team."

The Panthers didn't show any rust despite a nearly three-week layoff because of the holiday break, as they jumped to an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Sophomore Victoria Williams, last year's North County Times player of the year, had two of her game-high seven goals in the quarter. Sydney Witt, who finished with three goals, also had two in the opening quarter.

The second quarter saw both teams' defense play strong, as the Falcons also recorded several steals and held the Panthers to one goal and they scored their first goal as well. The No. 10-ranked Falcons (2-2) got on the board with a Kristy Avis goal with 15 seconds left in the quarter.

Torrey Pines opened the third quarter scoring first, this time off a 5-meter penalty shot by Anique Hermann. However, it would be shut out until the final second of the quarter until Hermann would score again as the buzzer went off.

Victoria Williams continued to dominate in the third quarter for the Panthers as she scored three more goals to go along with two goals by Katrina Hill to put Vista up 13-3 going into the final quarter.

Two more goals by Victoria Williams and one each by Chelsea Menkee and Charlie Warburton compared to only one by the Falcons, an Amanda Stevenson goal with 5:16 in the quarter, saw the Panthers put the game away in the fourth quarter.

First-year Falcons coach Heather Langridge said a game like this, even though it was a blowout, can teach her young players a lot.

"This prepares them for CIF," she said. "I want to play stronger teams like this because it definitely helps us. This is a reality check."