The girls water polo team defeated the Woodside Wildcats 8-5 on Monday evening. M-A set the tone with constant attacks and worked tirelessly on defense to secure the win in this heavily anticipated rivalry matchup.
The Bears started off with offensive intensity, led by senior Harper Williams, who won the sprint. Woodside got the ball back, but overshot the net, and junior Sila Curic quickly responded by sinking a shot into the top right corner to get a quick 1-0 lead.
M-A stayed disciplined on defense, denying many attacks from Woodside. Junior Grace Lobdell launched a speedy shot on a counterattack, but it was barely blocked by the Wildcats.
Senior Giselle Schroedl secured the rebound, smashing the ball in the right side of the net to make it 2-0. Following this, a lofted pass from senior Lily Anderson landed in senior Mica Podoly’s hand directly in front of goal. Podoly capitalized, scoring down the left side of the net to end the first quarter with a 3-0 advantage for the Bears.
“We had some beautiful goals from Mica. She has really been practicing shooting, and I’m proud of her for her goals,” Williams said.
Going into the second quarter, the Bears won the sprint again, but the ball was quickly taken back by Woodside. The Wildcats launched a shot, but junior goalkeeper Fiona McGaraghan made an impressive stop, tipping the ball over the net.
Woodside continued to be outlasted by the Bears’ offense, and sophomore Avery Moeller sank a shot from deep right of the pool to create a solid 4-0 lead for M-A. The Bears and Wildcats fought to maintain possession, and Woodside smashed the ball into the top left corner of M-A’s net, setting the score at 4-1. However, the Bears had no trouble responding, as Williams leveraged a five-meter penalty to make it 5-1 to conclude the quarter.
“We usually have our focus points that we do. I think it was team, focus, and awareness, which should represent the game, and [we] nailed those points,” Moeller said.
Early into the third quarter, Podoly and Curic won a crucial ball in front of their goal through lockdown defense. Woodside regained possession and launched a long shot, which was saved by McGaraghan. With 4:04 left in the third quarter, Podoly made an incredible attempt from far out, creating a 6-1 lead for the Bears.
Woodside began to apply pressure, netting two goals within two minutes to close the gap to 6-3. The Wildcats received the ball in front of the goal again, scoring to further tighten the game at 6-4.
The Bears were unfazed by this run. M-A put an uncontested pass to good use, allowing Williams to score with 18 seconds left. Woodside attempted another shot before the time expired, but the ball skipped just outside, and the third quarter ended with the Bears up 7-4.
“I think that our takeaway is probably just the communication aspect. When we are really loud and communicate with each other, then we’re able to do better and work together well,” senior Lucy Gostyla said.
The fourth quarter started with the ball in Woodside’s hands, but M-A was quick to win the ball back. The Bears stayed calm and collected to maintain their lead. M-A worked to maintain possession in order to run down the clock, and McGaraghan made two more crucial saves for the Bears.
Woodside found an open player in front of goal to put it away and tighten the score to 7-5. However, this wasn’t enough for the Wildcats to close the gap. Podoly responded, burying the ball in the goal to extend M-A’s cushion to 8-5.
Woodside’s late offensive runs proved insufficient, and the Bears emerged victorious over the Wildcats 8-5.
“My favorite part of playing with this team is just I feel like we’re all very bonded and connected, and it’s been reflected in our playing, like just the connections we make to each other, make us all play better together as a team,” Gostyla said.
The Bears will face off at home against the Sequoia Ravens on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
Fiona McGaraghan and Grace Lobdell are journalists for the M-A Chronicle.
