Girls Water Polo overpowers Santa Clara High School 12-4 on its senior night

Matadors maintain a strong lead throughout all four quarters

Senior+Sophia+Fu+swims+backwards+to+distance+herself+from+SCHS+players+before+passing+the+ball.

Michelle Zheng

Senior Sophia Fu swims backwards to distance herself from SCHS players before passing the ball.

Anna Jerolimov and Michelle Zheng

The Girls Water Polo team beat Santa Clara High School 12-4 on its senior night on Thursday, Oct. 14, bringing its season record to 3-6. MVHS had both sturdy offense and defense, evident by the end score of the first quarter, 5-0. SCHS attempted to score multiple times, but were unable to successfully cut through the Lady Mats’ strong defense.

Senior Auria Polefka states that the team has drastically improved in both communication and teamwork since its last game against SCHS on Sept. 23, in which MVHS lost 17-18.

“We’ve really progressed,” Polefka said. “We’ve started to work together better as a team and improve our overall skills, [and] I think this game shows it.”

Senior Ananya Anand adds that a reason MVHS was able to dominate throughout the game, holding SCHS to 7-1 at the end of the first half and 10-2 at the end of the third quarter, was due to conditioning drills that the players had practiced that allowed them to “stay in front” of” SCHS.

Unlike SCHS, where only one player scored all four of the goals, MVHS’s twelve points were divided among multiple players. Rather than only focusing on the competitive aspect of this game, MVHS decided to sprinkle in some fun for the seniors on their senior night, challenging every senior to try and score one goal. 

“[Senior night is] obviously bittersweet,” Anand said. “[The game] was so much fun, but it’s my last home game — I don’t think it’s hit me yet.”