The girls water polo team defeated Aragon 13-9 in their first league game of the season on Monday evening.
The Bears started off the game strong, hoping to bounce back from a tough loss to Menlo on Saturday. Junior Harper Williams got a quick steal for M-A, and a sharp pass ahead resulted in a goal by senior Isabel Habibi*, establishing a 1-0 lead for the Bears less than a minute into the game.
M-A’s momentum continued as formidable defense by senior Molly Gray led to consistent possessions for the Bears, allowing for junior Sarah Coolican* to find the back of the net, extending their lead to 2-0 with 5:50 left in the first quarter. Despite the Bears’ early push, Aragon immediately bounced back, finding a gap in the M-A defense to get on the board 20 seconds later, making the score 2-1.
Two more goals by Williams and Habibi continued the Bears’ dominant start, and sophomore goalkeeper Fiona McGaraghan held her ground in the cage. M-A finished the first quarter with an assertive 4-1 lead.
“This was our last league game [last year], and we played really well,” McGaraghan said.
“It was something to live up to this time around.”
Senior Brea Trujillo took on the role of goalkeeper to start the second quarter, defending M-A’s territory as the Dons gained possession of the ball by winning the sprint. After a round of great defense, the Bears mounted a rapid offense, which resulted in a shot by senior Scarlett Shenk that just barely missed the goal.
The game paused for a quick timeout, after which the Bears came out hot with Coolican scoring a stunning shot, resulting in an M-A lead of 5-1 with 4:30 remaining in the half. The Bears stayed tenacious on defense, with Trujillo saving a long shot on the goal and junior Mica Podoly aggressively defending the Bears’ cage.
M-A initiated another strong offensive push, and a short shot by senior Sabine Polly expanded the Bears’ lead to 6-1 with 2:15 left on the clock. Even so, Aragon stayed relentless and quickly followed this up with a point of their own, setting the score at 6-2.
Unfazed, the Bears proceeded to string together a series of strong passes that led to Shenk sinking the ball into Aragon’s goal, raising the total score to 7-2 with only a minute and a half remaining in the second quarter. Despite M-A’s potent defense, the Dons went on a roll, scoring two points in the last 30 seconds of the half to reduce the Bears’ lead to 7-4 going into halftime.
M-A brought energy to the second half as cheers erupted from the bench. The Bears quickly took possession, and Shenk launched a powerful shot that skipped right into the back of Aragons net. The Dons then punched through the Bears’ defense, scoring their fifth point with 5:40 left in the third quarter. Gray found the back of the net to increase the Bears’ tally, and an Aragon goal brought the total to 9-6, a decisive lead for M-A, as the Dons called a timeout with 2:35 left in the third quarter.
When play resumed, Aragon quickly scored again, but a short-range shot by senior Gabby Rothstein ended the quarter on a high note, with M-A in the lead 10-7.
Shenk started the final quarter strong, securing the ball for the Bears. A chain of passes ensued, culminating in a quick goal by Shenk just 30 seconds into the fourth quarter. The next couple of minutes were marked by ironclad M-A defense as McGaraghan blocked multiple shots in the cage.
The Bears’ defense was punctuated by offensive runs, including one by Coolican, which resulted in another goal for M-A and brought the tally up to 12-7 with five minutes left in the game. The Bears were able to hold on despite a push by the Dons, and M-A secured a 13-9 win.
“Our last game against Menlo felt pretty good, so playing this team, I feel like our skill level went down, but we still did a good job persisting and pulling out the win,” Shenk said.
“I want to fight hard, see our team grow, and learn what we can from this game to improve as time goes on,” Rothstein said.
The Bears will face off against Sequoia at home on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
*Isabel Habibi and Sarah Coolican are journalists for the M-A Chronicle
