Carlmont’s junior varsity boys water polo team lost to the Woodside Wildcats on Thursday, Oct. 23. Despite this, Carlmont players were optimistic about their improvement as a team over the course of the season.
It was a rough start for the Scots, as Woodside managed to get an early lead of 2-0 at the beginning of the game.
However, Carlmont put up a fight against the Wildcats’ strong defense in the first two quarters.
“There was a lot of double teaming from the Woodside perspective and it seems like we were getting quite a few penalties,” said Susie Park, a Carlmont spectator.
This became obvious when Woodside ended strong in the first half of the game, dominating with a score of 7-0. Both teams saw multiple promising attempts to score points throughout, but the Scots generally struggled to keep up with the Wildcats’ quick pace.
In the third quarter, Carlmont saw its first point scored by co-captain Elliott Cranmer.
“Woodside always had men open, and they’re really good at taking shots. Overall they had a very dominant offense and they were able to capitalize a lot off of plays,” Cranmer said.
Despite the tough opposition, the Scots continued to make progress throughout the third and fourth quarters of the game. With new players and varying strategies, they scored points.
A switch up of the players on the field in the fourth quarter gave Carlmont an edge, as they battled it out to the final whistle.
In the end, Woodside secured a victory with a score of 10–3.
According to Woodside coach Duncin Vaughan, the Wildcats had some of the strongest defense he had seen from them so far in the season.
“I’m really happy with everyone that was coming in off our bench; they don’t get as much playing time, and to see them get in the water while they’re still rusty, keep up good defense, work hard on offense, I’m just really proud of everyone,” Vaughan said.
Cranmer shared these sentiments, agreeing that both teams played admirably.
“I think today’s score doesn’t reflect how we really are as a team. The first time we played Woodside, they beat us by a lot more than this game, and overall, we’re moving in the right direction. This team really has a lot of talented players and we’re really close to being really good,” Cranmer said.
