Varsity Boys Water polo lost to the Mustangs 11-10 by a heartbreaking last second goal in overtime

After a tough loss to Gunn the night before, the boys were determined to end the season with a win against Homestead. Despite a great team effort, the Matadors lost to the Mustangs 11-10 by a heartbreaking last second goal in overtime.

"We didn’t play nearly as well as last night," said coach Ron Freeman. "There were a lot of mistakes early on, and we didn’t function well offensively."

The Matadors stole the first point of the game to put them immediately in a 1-0 lead. Right after the buzzer sounded to end the first period, the Matadors scored a goal, but disappointingly, it was just too late to be counted. 

In the second period, senior captain Andrew Stewart scored a goal to extend the lead to 2-0. However, the Mustangs responded to the Matador’s slipping defense with two quick goals of their own, tying the game up at 2-2. Then as Homestead scored two consecutive goals in the third, the Matador’s answered back with two goals by seniors Patrick Mi and Jubin Honarvar.

The score flip-flopped throughout the fourth quarter, as the two teams scored right after the other. 
Homestead started off the fourth period with an immediate goal. After a tussle in the cage, Homestead managed to score yet again to place them in a 6-4 lead over the Matadors. However, the Mats came back with goals from Honarvar and sophomore Cameron Yates to tie the game. After Homestead scored, Honarvar made a perfect pass to Yates who was able to take a clean shot and tie up the game once again 7-7.

Homestead lobbed the ball high up towards the goal and it was able to slip right past goalie Andrew Sabour to put them into an 8-7 lead. However due to trouble at the desk, the score was displayed as a 8-8 tie. The referees did not fix it until the last minute of the game after the Mats had a goal and the Mustangs had two. When the scoreboard was fixed, it revealed that the Matadors were actually down by one point. Under pressure, Honarvar skipped the ball on the surface of the water and into the cage to tie up the game at the end of regulation.

In the first three minute overtime, Honarvar placed the ball smoothly into the cage to put the Matadors in the lead, but was immediately counter-attacked by a Homestead shot to tie once again at 10-10, which resulted in double over time. At the last minute of the second over time, the Mustangs managed to find an open route through Matador territory and score the winning goal, upsetting the Matadors and leaving them seventh place in the tournament.

"It was just one guy. We didn’t stop one guy from scoring and that’s how they beat us," Freeman said. "That is more frustrating to me than anything else."

Although their overall league record is 2-10, the boys have proved themselves capable of playing against the toughest teams in the highest division.