The girls water polo team dominated the Sequoia Ravens 18-2 following the senior night celebration on Wednesday afternoon.
The afternoon began with a short ceremony for the six seniors. Head Coach Jim Lobdell read a short speech for each senior in which he described their progression through the water polo program and the energy and joy they bring to the team.
“I think [the ceremony] brought a good sense of community, and everyone was in really high spirits,” senior Giselle Schroedl said.
The Bears started off hot with early offensive chances. Junior Tara Azadpour and senior Lily Anderson made key passes, putting pressure on Sequoia’s defense. A strike from Azadpour put M-A up 1-0 with 3:50 remaining in the first quarter.
While on defense, the Bears completely locked down the Ravens. M-A’s high press stifled any offensive attempts that Sequoia tried to start, with valuable steals by Anderson to keep the Ravens scoreless.
The Bears’ offense persisted, and Williams was able to get a shot past the Ravens’ goalkeeper to make it 2-0, and the quarter ended before either team could score again.
In the second quarter, M-A struggled to finish its possessions with goals. Even so, the Bears continued to play rock-solid defense, including an anticipated pass by Williams that gave M-A possession.
The Bears start to convert on their shots in the latter half of the second quarter. Set up by a long pass from junior goalkeeper Fiona McGaraghan, junior Sila Curic slipped through Sequoia’s defense to give the Bears a 3-0 lead. Shortly after, sophomore Avery Moeller sniped the ball into the top corner to build M-A’s lead to 4-0.
Although the Bears’ defense was practically impenetrable throughout the first half, in the final thirty seconds of the half, the Ravens were able to get a shot past McGaraghan to make it 4-1.
“At first we kind of played down to their level,” Anderson said. “Once we got to the third quarter, we were back in the game and got that energy up.”
In the second half, M-A’s seniors took over. Three goals from Williams and one from senior Lucy Gostyla on a breakaway energized the Bears, seating them at a comfortable 8-1 lead with less than three minutes to go in the third quarter.
The goals just kept on coming. Curic scored off a pass from Anderson, and Gostyla then finished an open one-on-one with the keeper. Following this, Moeller placed a shot beautifully past the quickly-fleeting Sequoia defender to bring the score to 11-1.
The Bears kept their foot on the gas in the fourth quarter despite their lead. Within the first three minutes, Gostyla recorded another two goals and an assist to take a commanding 14-1 advantage.
The Ravens created a five-meter shot attempt, but junior goalkeeper Olivia Rodgers came up with an excellent one-handed save to stop Sequoia from having any hope of coming back.
Within another two minutes, the Bears didn’t let up and continued their scoring streak. Anderson and Williams finished on contested shots to put them up 17-1. The Ravens got another consolation goal, as they converted their second five-meter shot to cut the lead to 17-2.
M-A’s defense continued to dominate, forcing another turnover with thirty seconds left in the game and nailing a deep pass to Schroedl, who effortlessly slotted the ball away. Time expired shortly after, cementing the Bears’ victory over Sequoia 18-2.
“I hope that we keep our record undefeated and win another year of league,” Gostyla said. “It would be our fourth year, so that would be amazing.”
The Bears will travel to face off against the Terra Nova Tigers on Monday at 5 p.m.
Fiona McGaraghan is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
