Varsity Boys Water Polo lost 16-8 against Fremont High School on Thursday, Sept. 22. Sophomore and wing player Owen Pow had high expectations for the team going into the game, however the team struggled to score points in the first and second quarter, bringing the overall score to 9-3 by halftime. After halftime, MVHS gained momentum and scored two points in quick succession, but FHS came back strong in the fourth quarter, securing its victory by eight points. 

Senior and attacker Kinton Duong said the loss came as a surprise to the team members, as they had won twice against Fremont the previous year. He attributes the loss to a rough start and poor defense. 

“I think we left some of our defense open, and they were able to go down for easy counter-attacks that should have been prevented,” Duong said. “The first quarter blunder was just too large to catch up to win the game.”

Pow agreed with Duong and said the team lacked defensive effort.

“They had a couple players that we neglected and they kind of punished us for it,” Pow said. “For the second half, we picked up the pace, [but our mistakes] took [the momentum] away.”

Although Duong says this was a disappointing loss for the team, Duong points to its “ability to make adjustments” during the game and believes the team can learn and improve from the defeat. 

“We hope to come back stronger [and] plan on going over the film from this game and working on strategies for defense,” Duong said.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Sameer Maheshwari

Senior and attacker Kinton Duong prepares for the upcoming game by shooting the ball.