Josh Barde

Sophomore Alexey Krytsyn looks for an open shot as he is guarded by an opponent.

The boys JV water polo team lost 11-3 to the Menlo-Atherton Bears in just under 45 minutes.

In just four quarters, Menlo-Atherton was able to find their groove and takedown Carlmont. Going into the game on Oct. 7, the Scots held a record of 4-2, and the Bears were 4-0. The Scots had already faced the Bears in a previous game, where the Bears won 18-4.

Despite their severe loss in the previous match, Carlmont came into the game with a winning mentality.

“We weren’t particularly ready, but we had a good mindset going into it, and we worked hard at practice to get ready for a tough game,” sophomore Micheal Father said.

The game quickly began with a swim off between the teams, and Menlo-Atherton won the first possession of the ball. After a quick turnover, Carlmont had gained control of the ball. Within the 30 seconds allotted by the shot clock, quick ball movement allowed sophomore Owen Finigan to shoot the ball and score, giving the Scots a 1-0 lead.

As Menlo-Atherton then had the ball, the Bears were able to swiftly move the ball around and score, tying it up 1-1. The Bears and Scots both kept strong defenses as many turnovers occurred throughout the first six minutes. By the end of the first quarter, the Bears were up 3-2.

In the next three quarters, the Bears played ferociously, allowing Carlmont only to score one more goal as they pulled ahead.

Carlmont began to lose energy towards the second half as a few of their players were out, including one of their captains, Lucas Calenda.

“I think they kind of just got the better of us. They had a couple more players than us and we were missing two of our good players,” freshman Honukai KnappAu said.

Carlmont’s head coach, Gifford Calenda, recognized the loss of players during the game.

“Given that we were missing some of our players, we had to play like one player had double the endurance,” Calenda said.

During the second quarter, Menlo-Atherton scored an additional three points on Carlmont’s goalie, KnappAu, just adding to their lead. The Bears were able to quickly gain an edge on the Scots as they had a strong defense and communicated loud enough for the crowd to hear.

By the fourth quarter, the Bears had a substantial four-goal lead over Carlmont. The Scots fought hard but ultimately were not able to come back.

With two minutes left in the game, Scots were down 11-3. However, the Scots’ lack of scoring was not due to a lack of shots as the team had many attempts at goal throughout the game.

Despite Carlmont’s loss, Father said, “I think we did a really great job, but we just needed a more coordinated offense to work around their defense.”

Coach Calenda hopes to place high in the conference for the season and wants his team to work towards that goal.

“I think they could do better jobs at releasing and not clogging up the middle, but my biggest goal is that we place top three,” Calenda said.

Carlmont has the opportunity to improve their record at their next game against Half Moon Bay on Oct. 17.