After a hard-fought second game of the season, the girls’ varsity water polo team beat Half Moon Bay High School 14-4 on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

Head coach Tiffany Spohrer said that although the team anticipated a challenging game, they played strong defense and capitalized on scoring opportunities.

“We thought that this would be really strong competition,” Spohrer said. “We played strong defense, and we weren’t afraid of taking shots on the goal. So overall, really strong game for them.”

According to senior co-captain Charlotte Guglielmi, the team showed strength throughout the game with their defense and communication.

“I would say it was actually phenomenal. Our defense was incredible. We were really collaborative. It was very fluid. And I’m really proud of us,” Guglielmi said.

In addition to strong communication, Spohrer said key plays from both underclassmen and upperclassmen helped lead the team to victory over the Cougars. Senior and co-captain Aria Sherwood had multiple strong assists which accounted for a majority of scored goals. Sophomores Julia Bowler and Ari Beser, along with juniors Elea Bernaudin, Mia Hoffman, Natalie Chen, and Lucy Kendall had many steals and were able to put the ball back in the Panther’s possession.

In the first quarter, Beser and senior Marina Chan drew exclusion fouls on two opposing players. Senior Meave Ganguly also drew a penalty foul, resulting in a penalty shot for the Cougars. Despite this, the Cougars were unable to catch up to the Panthers’ lead.

The team held a consistent lead throughout the game, going up 6-1 after the first quarter, 8-1 at halftime, and 12-2 after the third quarter. They finished the game with a 14-4 victory. Guglielmi said she focused on maintaining a positive mindset by telling her teammates to play more competitively every quarter.

“I honestly think positivity was the one thing I was telling everyone… we have to think of it as a new game every single quarter,” Guglielmi said. “We gotta come at it like 0-0, every time to be positive, we have to be optimistic, and we had to go in there strong.”

Despite the dominant win, Spohrer said the team needs to work on man-up plays and ball-handling during these situations. A man-up play, also called a power play, happens when one player is temporarily removed because they committed an exclusion foul. In these situations, the offense has a numerical advantage, typically six players against five or four defenders.

“We can do a better job when we’re in man-up situations, getting set up a little bit faster, and taking our time with the ball,” Spohrer said. “I think we get a little panicked in the man-up situations and want to immediately shoot instead of moving it around.”

Moving forward, Guglielmi said the team hopes to build on the win and carry its momentum through the rest of the season.

“It’s gonna be a great year, and we’re gonna come at it at full force,” Guglielmi said.