In a thrilling final home game of the season, girls’ water polo (13-2) fell to San Mateo High School 12-11 on Thursday, Oct. 30, breaking their previously undefeated record this season.

To kick off the game, head coach Tiffany Sphorer included all seven seniors in the starting lineup. The Panthers got off to a strong start, with senior Charlotte Guglielmi scoring the first goal within the first two minutes. However, their early momentum waned when senior Aria Sherwood, one of the team’s strongest players, was ejected and removed from the game just minutes later.

“It was very spur of the moment, since our best player got kicked out extremely early on, and that was just a surprise to everyone, and there were just a lot of little things that contributed to how we played,” sophomore Julia Bowler said. “But overall, I think with everything that happened to our team, considering our best player, Aria, got out and Charlotte got rolled as well, I think we played really well.”

Guglielmi and Bowler scored three goals collectively, helping maintain a one-point lead until the middle of the second quarter. Senior Kagan Goldstein and sophomore Leia Burlingham also made notable plays that gave the Panthers a three-point lead over the Bearcats by the third quarter.

Later in the game, Guglielmi and Goldstein were ejected and removed from the game. With the loss of key players, others stepped up to support the team.

“They really wanted the win, especially on senior night, so our seniors were working really, really hard. When Charlotte got kicked out, she’s another one of our top players that was hard to come back from,” Spohrer said. “But Leia, one of our sophomores, really stepped it up. She’s fearless in the water, she took shots on the goal that weren’t crazy shots to take, but she would make them in.”

The gap closed quickly when San Mateo scored seven more goals in the second half, taking a 10-9 lead by the end of the fourth quarter and creating an anxious atmosphere for the Panthers. In the last 15 seconds of the fourth period, Burlingham scored to tie the score 10-10 and send the game into overtime.

“[Leia] was really far from the goal. She had two defenders, arms up on her, and she lobbed the ball like full force into the goal, and it went in. And it was amazing,” Spohrer said.

After Burlingham’s goal, Spohrer said the team was “jumping up and down and screaming” on deck. The crowd cheered as the Panthers in the water embraced Burlingham.

Overtime was played in two three-minute quarters. The Bearcats scored in the first period, bringing them ahead of the Panthers 11-10. In the second period, the Bearcats scored yet again, boosting their lead to 12-10.

“Going into overtime, we were up for the challenge, because we got into overtime earlier in the season against Mills, and we beat them,” Spohrer said. “And so I think we went in thinking we’ve done this before, and we can definitely do it again.”

In the last minute and 16 seconds of the second overtime period, senior Marina Chan made a goal for the Panthers, putting the score at 12-11. The Panthers were unable to score again, losing the game 12-11 in their first official loss of the season.

Despite the loss, the team celebrated senior night with speeches, posters, pizza, gifts, and photos after the game. Senior Alex Rivas said she found a learning opportunity in spite of the loss, and expressed her pride towards how well the team played.

“Senior night was very important for us, but I think it was just about playing the game well and communicating,” Rivas said. “We had some awesome defense. We had some great plays. I think even though we lost, I’m really proud of how far we’ve come.”

Senior Kagan Goldstein said the sense of community she built through the sport has made the hard work and dedication worth it. Her wish is for new people to join the team if they express any interest in water polo.

“I hope that people continue to join whether they know what they’re doing or not,” Goldstein said. “It’s really not about doing well at the sport, but giving it your all and meeting new people and learning new skills.”

Shortly after their loss to San Mateo, the Panthers had a quick turnaround for their Central Coast Section (CCS) play-in game against Aragon High School, which they ultimately lost 14-7 on Friday, Oct. 31.

Guglielmi said a factor in the loss was that much of the team felt fatigued going into the CCS play-in, with little preparation and rest time following their game against San Mateo.

“We didn’t have a lot of practice before, the boys had their games, but I felt that it was definitely a challenge,” Guglielmi said. “But I felt that we really put 100% of our effort into it, even though we were at a disadvantage from playing the night before.”

The Panthers let up three goals in the first quarter, but prevented further damage with multiple blocks from junior goalie Lucy Kendall and steals from players like Burlingham and Sherwood. The team moved into the next quarter down 3-0.

In the second quarter, junior Natalie Chen made three saves to keep the Dons from scoring. Sherwood added a steal and a goal, putting the Panthers on the board, and bringing the score to 6-1. Moving into the third quarter, Guglielmi got a steal and a goal, and Sherwood made an additional two goals and a steal, ending the quarter 9-4.

Guglielmi said she was glad to score a goal and see her teammate Sherwood take over on the offensive line.

“I was really relieved because I was very tired from our senior night from the day before,” Guglielmi said. “I felt that Aria was doing a great job with making sure our team was playing the best that we could. And I’m sure she felt the same way when I made the goal because it felt like a good accomplishment for both of us to make those goals.”

In the final quarter, Kendall got a steal and four blocks, and Sherwood scored three more goals. Despite their comeback efforts, the Panthers lost 14-7.

While they struggled to score crucial points in their final two games, the Panthers played a strong season, finishing with a 13-2 record. Spohrer said she was proud of the team’s performance, and recognized the challenges the team will face next season without their graduating seniors.

“Most of the games they won by big margins, whereas last year, I think it was a little bit more close. So I’m really proud of them,” Spohrer said. “I think going into next year, we are feeling a mixture of things, because we’re losing Aria and Charlotte, and [the game against San Mateo] really gave us a sense of how much harder the game is going to be without those two players.”

Guglielmi also shared her thoughts regarding the team’s growth, expressing pride for her teammates.

“I personally think that this was my best season playing on BHS,” Guglielmi said. “I was really proud of how our team was able to communicate clearly, and I think we really bonded towards the end and [were] able to work efficiently and make all the games turn out very like we were able to put all of our energy into the games and make sure that we were quick,” Guglielmi said.