The Carlmont Scots varsity boys water polo team lost to the Woodside Wildcats in a league game on Monday with a final score of 12-9, bringing the Scots to a 2-6 record.
The Scots’ season started rough, and they are currently in sixth place. The Wildcats have a 12-3 record, placing them second in the league.
The Wildcats were able to start strong, scoring two goals by the middle of the first quarter. However, the Scots responded with a skip shot from the senior attacker, Kian Bhatt, to make it 2-1. Julian Hull, the Wildcat’s leading scorer this game, started early in the second quarter, where he nailed in a goal to make the score 4-1.
“This game, we had a very strong start,” said Bruno Antonino, the Wildcats head coach. “We do a very hard press in the beginning and then counterattack. That’s why we got some five-meters.”
A five-meter is the name for a penalty shot in water polo because the player shooting the penalty sets up five meters from the goal to take the shot.
From then on, the Wildcats dominated and went on a 5-2 run to make it 9-3 by halftime. With the help of sophomore William Stevenson, the Wildcats scored early in the third quarter. Woodside would go on to score three more goals and finished the third quarter up 12-3.
The Scots refused to accept defeat and worked together to bring the score up to 12-7 midway through the fourth quarter. Utility Eli Samon was an important player for the Scots, as he scored three of the five goals and had one assist.
“I turned one guy and had him on my back when it should’ve been a five, and then I threw it between the goalie’s hands,” Samon said.
Another Carlmont goal from junior Sinjin Roelle continued the Scots’ 4-0 run and boosted their comeback.
However, the Scots rebound fell short, and the Wildcats prevailed. Despite the loss, Scots head coach Adam Dean emphasized that his team played well.
“Everyone worked as a team,” Dean said. “Nobody was a solo player.”
Dean reflected on the team’s improvement from the start of the season and expressed his hopes for the remainder of the season.
“Last time, we lost pretty bad to Woodside, but this time we only lost by three goals, so you can see the progress,” Dean said. “My personal goal as a coach is to make sure that these kids are able to have fun and learn from their mistakes because winning isn’t always everything. If you win everything, then what are you going to learn?”
