Co-captain Arnav Prathipati scored four goals en route to the Scots JV boys water polo victory of 10-4 over the Burlingame Panthers at Carlmont High School on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
After a close 9-8 loss to the Panthers in mid-September, the Scots prepared for a challenging battle with their rivals.
Just minutes after the game had begun, Carlmont sophomore Prathipati opened the score with a penalty shot, which he quickly converted to put the Scots up 1-0.
Prathipati’s goal sparked a 6-0 scoring run for the Scots, with junior goalkeeper Akhil Pillai lobbing multiple passes to Prathipati, Derren Peng, and co-captain Dylan Pedersen, who were able to put up numerous shots on goal throughout the first half.
“My ability to create separation was what caused me to get lots of shots off because I was able to create space between me and my defender,” Prathipati said.
As the second half began, Calmont led 6-0. After another goal from Prathipati, the Scots had a 7-0 lead and began subbing out many starters. However, the Panthers were able to convert two long-range shots to put two points on the board late in the third quarter.
The Carlmont defense held the Panthers to four goals in the second half, making the game’s final score 10-4 in favor of the Scots.
“A key strength our team had was recognizing when they needed to fall back on defense, so the opponent wasn’t too far ahead of them like the first game against Burlingame,” said Adam Dean, the Carlmont JV head coach.
Like Dean, many Carlmont players were pleased with how they had improved to beat the Panthers after their early season defeat.
“There was more communication between our goalie and our players, but the thing that we improved the most was our passing,” Pedersen said.
The Scots’ dominant win improves their season to a 4-6 record in league play. However, without a playoff system for the JV league, Dean has other plans for his team’s future.
“My goal moving forward is to keep the current players engaged with the sport and continue to love playing it. I would love for them to all join a club team in the off-season to further their skill set so they all could have a better chance at making varsity in the future,” Dean said.
