It is finally water polo season for the girls, and the Varsity team has been making long strides to get their wins in league. On Jan. 7, the Lady Apaches went against the Burbank Bulldogs in a head-to-head game and left with another win of 6-5.
At first glance, the Bulldogs were daunting. Their strength and unity during warm-ups were formidable; however, the Apaches were not worried. With their loud and proud Apache cheer, the game finally began. The first quarter started off strong as the Apaches scored the first point of the game.
However, the Apaches underestimated the Bulldogs’ strength and teamwork as Burbank struck back right after leaving the score 1-1. When one team scored a point, the other would be determined to score one as well. This continued until the end of the second quarter where the score was 4-3.
With two quarters left, the Apaches were determined to gain a lead against the Bulldogs. The third quarter continued the trend of scoring one point after one another, but the fourth quarter changed the game. There was more tension between the two teams and although both teams were tired, they both continued playing with strong defense and offense on both sides.
Going into the fourth quarter, the score was 5-4, and in the first minute of playing, Burbank had already scored another point. The score was tight and the Apaches were in a rough spot, but they remained calm and focused on gaining a lead.
After Burbank scored the first goal in the fourth quarter, the Apaches were truly motivated then as they scored a goal right after. The Apaches were progressively showing a more fierce and strong defense, which prevented the Bulldogs from scoring multiple times. And although their offense was not as strong, they still managed to score many points without any trouble.
A penalty foul was called on Burbank leading to a penalty shot for Arcadia. This penalty shot helped the Apaches score another point which gained them the lead with a score of 6-5. With 20 seconds left in the last quarter, Burbank called a time-out. Burbank’s coach scrambled to push out ideas and words of encouragement while their girls seemed uneasy. The Apaches also looked on edge with there only being a one-point lead. In the end, the Apaches were able to keep the ball until the thirty seconds were over, leaving the final score to be 6-5 with another Apache win.
Varsity Captain Junior Cassandra O’Connor reflects on the game by saying, “I think we definitely underestimated Burbank when we first came in the game so we could’ve had a better mindset coming in. Two things we could’ve worked on were communication and also more movement. Communication is really important since it helps us be aware of what’s going on and makes sure that we’re all working together. Movement is also important because it creates opportunities to score and draw ejections. Overall we had a few things to work on, but we earned the win and I’m really proud of our team.”
The team never seems to disappoint, and it seems that this season will bring a lot of joy as well. As water polo season comes to an end, the girls will continue to fight for more wins to make the Apaches proud, and the Apaches will always be rooting for them in the stands.

Photo by MELODY LUI