Varsity Girls Water Polo fell 9-3 to Saratoga High School on Thursday, Sept. 11. The teams ended the first quarter with a close score of 2-1, but as the game went on, SHS scored two more goals in the first half. In the second half, SHS scored five while MVHS scored two.
During the third quarter, the MVHS bench received a yellow card penalty since one of the referees viewed the discussion between players as “disrupting.” According to senior Hannah Wu, referees tend to make these calls if they feel like they are not able to focus on officiating the game while simultaneously hearing conversations. However, Wu believes communication from the bench is still important.
“I think communication, even from the bench, is definitely really helpful, because sometimes it’s hard to hear what the coach is specifically saying during the game,” Wu said. “When the bench is able to amplify it, it definitely helps the players because they can hear more clearly what the coaches want us to do.”
Although the game resulted in a loss, senior and captain Miya Sakurai is excited about the progress that the team has made. She attributes this to the high energy throughout the players.
“Everyone really stepped up on their defense, and we got a lot of open looks on offense,” Sakurai said. “I think this was the best game of our season.”
Wu agrees with Sakurai, citing the consistent offensive and defensive plays made by the Matadors. She believes that the team has made improvements since their previous game against Lynbrook High School.
“Some of our shots did not make it, but I think it’s better to try and make shots than it is to get the ball turned over,” Wu said. “I thought our defense was better than our offense, and we’re communicating more, which is definitely really good.”
