With the start of fall, the sports that welcome the new season have been taking place all over Arcadia High School (AHS). The Boys Varsity Water Polo team had their home game against Crescenta Valley High School (CVHS) on Oct. 10 which resulted in 26-19.
“Crescenta Valley High School’s team is always one in which we must be extremely focused while competing against them. We did a great job in playing as a team in this game. While [CVHS] was working to double team and shut down one of our strongest players, [senior] Jaden Joemtree, our other players really stepped up to become scoring threats.” said Varsity Water Polo Coach Janice Clark.
The game began with both teams exhibiting defense strategies. AHS quickly took the lead, scoring two goals to CVHS score of one. The ending tightly finished with a score of 2-1.
As the second quarter began, both teams intensified their efforts. Demonstrating teamwork and strategic passes, AHS took the lead in the first two points. Later on, CVHS fought back, making another three goals. This ended with a tie of 4-4 in the second quarter.
“I think the support of our good-sportsmanship among the players has been a great factor in our winning result. Though we started off tight, the game progressed, and our points vastly improved!” said Coach Clark.
Being the turning point in the match, the third quarter captivated the biggest difference in their efforts. Determined to succeed, AHS launched an offensive barrage which scored four consecutive goals, ending with a score of 8-5.
With one quarter left, both teams put in their best efforts to make the most out of the game. CVHS was so focused on closing the gap, but they didn’t quite make it. They improved their offensive and tackling strategies relentlessly by the end of the game. However, AHS continued to have strong control and precision with the ball and ended up scoring four goals once again! The last quarter ended with a score of 12-9.
Joemtree had a number of shot assists, skillfully passing the ball off to teammates when he was being double teamed. The goalie, junior Warren Luc, had nine saves compared to the CVHS goalie who had five. Senior Alan Yu had seven goals for the game. Seniors Nathan Loo, Marcus Loo, Nicholas Chang, and Ryan Li also scored for AHS!
“At first, I was a little uneasy going into the game, as CV typically tends to be a more challenging team in our league,” said senior Ashton Jail.
“It was also our senior night, which really put the pressure on our guys to bring home the win. We started off slow, but widened the gap between us and [CVHS] in the third quarter that secured us the win. Overall, it was a great night for polo and an especially great night for our seniors.”
As this season has come to an end, this was a game that contributed to many of their successes. When asked how she trained her players, Clark said, “Our athletes train hard throughout the season. We do seven weeks in which we have before-school morning practices two days a week in the weight room and in the pool to build strength and cardio-conditioning. At this point, the morning practices are finished in order to give our athletes more rest so that they can peak at the end of the season. We practice each afternoon from 3:30-4:45 p.m. The practice begins with swim conditioning and eggbeater work for leg strengthening. We warm up for ball work with passing and shooting drills, and then work on team offense, defense, and man-up drills.”
In addition, when Coach Clark was asked about any memorable successes, she said, “A very memorable moment was our overtime victory over El Segundo in the South Bay tournament. It had been a very intense game all the way through with sudden death overtime, meaning that in the overtime period, the first shot to go in won the game. Winning that game made us the winners of the whole tournament.”
Unfortunately, the journey to their success has ended, as this is the last game of the season. The Boys Varsity Water Polo team has officially ended with a season record of 3-3-3.
