The varsity water polo team broke their 7-game losing streak in eight quarters on Thursday night.
“This [four quarters overtime] has never happened before,” said Marina Ferme, a senior.
Carlmont’s previous 7-4 victory over Half Moon Bay ensured that the Panthers were not going down without a fight. Before the game, Ilyana Zlobinsky, a Carlmont junior, discussed the goals of the team.
“We were looking to just come out strong and positive and not get down if they score on us,” Zlobinsky said.
Carlmont started strong with a 9-5 lead, but by the end of the fourth quarter, Half Moon Bay closed the gap to 10-9. The Scots kept their spirit and battled point by point for the win, which astonishingly continued into tedious overtime. It wasn’t until the eighth quarter that there was a round of “golden goal” that would determine the winner of the game.
As the suspense grew, the crowd shifted toward the edge of the seats and held its breath in anticipation. Eventually, Carlmont ended the neck-to-neck battle at 13-12.
Varsity coach Bernice O’Connor gives the Scots a pep talk.
“When we fell behind, we were able to hype ourselves back up to win that game, and it’s happened a couple of times this season so I feel like teamwork and how proud we are to be on this team brought us to beat them,” said Julia Bronsan, a senior.
Although Half Moon Bay hasn’t won a game this season, the team was elated at the end of the game by their performance and how they put up with the eight quarters.
“Putting in the energy at the end was our biggest challenge when we went overtime,” said Lily Nelson, a Half Moon Bay senior.
With their season coming to an end after facing many difficult teams, a win like this for the Scots is just what they needed.
“Our girls really showed a lot of character and strength being able to sustain the additional quarters of the game,” varsity coach Bernice O’ Connor said. “We just want to maintain that strength as we finish our season this year.”
