After struggling through close games and suffering tough losses, the varsity boys water polo team finally caught a break. The Matadors picked up an easy win against Homestead High School on Oct. 25, finishing the game 14-7. Junior Brendan Duffy scored four goals in twelve minutes, junior Omer Yosef had four, senior Peter Wells scored three, and senior Cameron Yates had two as the Matadors easily overpowered the Mustangs. Goalies junior Owen Hardee and senior Derek Li made effective blocks against Homestead offense as well.
The Matadors secured a lead quickly as Yates and Duffy each netted a goal within the first couple minutes of the game. Homestead seemed ready to put up a fight as they scored a goal of their own in the third minute, bringing the score to a close 2-1. However, the Matadors quickly overpowered the opposing team with consecutive goals from junior Jeffrey Lee, Duffy, and Wells to close up the first period with a comfortable 5-1 lead.
Wells started the second period with a goal within the first minute to extend the Matadors’ lead to five goals. After several shots hit the crossbar of both teams’ cages, Yates scored his second goal of the game, the players to relax a little as MVHS seemed to have the upper hand in the game. Homestead managed to put in their second team goal with a high shot from the left side from junior Marcus Lee, but Yosef followed with a goal that entered the net just as the buzzer sounded, ending the second period with the Matadors up 8-2.
“We knew we needed to win,” Yosef said. “So we came out here and performed.”
As the third period began, Homestead struck first when Lee’s shot hit the Matadors’ crossbar and barely went into the cage for a goal. Lee followed with another shot that brushed past MVHS junior goalie Owen Hardee for another Homestead goal. The Matadors cracked the game open in the third with goals from Duffy and Wells, the latter of which was scored during an exclusion on Homestead junior Justin Jiang. MVHS head coach Ed Samuels started substituting younger players at this point, which proved to be a smart move as Yosef netted his second goal of the game to put the Matadors up 12-4, which nearly secured the win for MVHS.
Two strong shots by Yates in the third period were blocked by Homestead goalie junior Nikolas Gregov, and the Homestead defense appeared to be solidifying. As the Matadors sent in more and more new players, the more experienced ones on the sidelines offered advice to their teammates, unifying the Matadors as a single team.
Entering the fourth period ahead 12-5, MVHS goalie senior Derek Li, who entered the game in place of Hardee, effectively blocked most shots by Homestead.With 6:30 left in the period, Yosef scored his third goal, but Homestead retaliated with a lob that sailed over Li’s hands and into the cage. Yosef bounced another ball into the cage with less than a minute left in the game, which brought the Matadors to 14-7, the final score of the game.
“It gave us more confidence and a chance to perform better,” Yates added. “It was definitely an easy game.”
The Matadors currently hold a 4-8 record after league play and have a chance to qualify for CCS if they win against Gunn High School in the Ron Freeman Memorial tournament on Oct. 28-29.
