The girls water polo team fell short against the Aragon Dons 11-7 on Wednesday evening.
The Bears struggled off the bat, with Aragon snagging possession off the sprint. The Dons quickly set up their first attempt at goal, but junior goalkeeper Olivia Rodgers reached high into the left corner and executed a firm block.
M-A attempted to gain some offensive momentum, but was stalled by the Aragon’s defense. The ball quickly moved back into the Dons’ hands and found the back of the Bears’ net.
M-A continued to up their defensive pressure, with numerous saves from Rodgers and steals by senior Harper Williams. Still, Aragon was able to sneak by with a goal, pushing their lead to 2-0.
The Bears did not remain complacent for long, with junior Sila Curic making aggressive movements toward the goal. Her work paid off, and Curic nailed a low shot into the middle of the net with around three minutes left in the quarter.
The Dons were eager to get back on the board, but were once again stalled by Rodgers, who carried out three stops in a row. The quarter came to a close with Aragon in the lead 2-1.
The second quarter opened with heavy cheering from M-A’s sideline, and the Bears were able to gain control immediately. A major foul by the Dons gave Williams a penalty shot, and she confidently crushed the ball into the goal, tying the score 2-2.
Possession continued to flip back and forth, with attempts by both teams. Aragon was then able to sneak a goal past the Bears, taking the lead once again.
M-A attempted to gain some headway offensively, with strong movements by senior Mica Podoly and Williams. However, the Dons managed to create two goal opportunities, moving the score to 5-2.
Still, the Bears refused to go quietly. The second Curic got her hands on the ball, she sailed a shot past Aragon’s goalkeeper into the back right of the net. Soon after, sophomore Avery Moeller capitalized on M-A’s accurate passes and slinked a shot into the middle of the goal, bringing the tally to 5-4 as the quarter ended.
After halftime, the Bears were eager to up the pressure and even out the score. Despite this, Aragon was able to sneak past M-A to increase their lead to 7-4.
The Bears took a timeout to regroup and came out firing. Junior Grace Lobdell and Podoly exchanged clean passes, eventually landing the ball into the hands of Curic. Curic then sank a shot straight into the right corner of the goal, putting M-A back in the game. However, the Dons responded quickly with two goals of their own, widening the gap to 9-5.
With just around two minutes left, the Bears were desperate for a goal. Podoly managed a smooth pass to Williams, who cleanly scored a powerful shot into the left corner.
Immediately after, the Dons bounced back with a goal of their own. Then, with 50 seconds left, senior Giselle Schroedl sliced a throw into the bottom of the net, moving the score to 10-7.
Still, it wasn’t enough, and Aragon gained another goal with 37 seconds left. The match concluded with a score of 11-7, a tragic loss for the Bears.
“I think we did great on defense and communicating if we needed help on a player. We really played as one connected team,” Curic said.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how we do with the rest of our games, like the one we have at Presentation on Friday, which will be interesting,” Moeller said.
The Bears will face Presentation away on Friday at 4 p.m.
Grace Lobdell is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
