Water Polo Team Upbeat Despite Defeat in Opener Against West Valley
From almost not fielding a team, to turning in a proud performance against the toughest team in the conference, the Rams’ first game had many bright spots despite the loss.
Not unexpectedly, the women’s water polo team was overpowered by rival West Valley at their first outing of the season. But the team accepted the experience with a measure of pride.
The West Valley Vikings came in with the confidence of being first in the conference year after year. Most of the Rams’ players are new to the sport — only two members have experience, and last year the team didn’t play. But they pushed ahead undaunted this time and gathered momentum as the game progressed, ending with a respectable 10 goals to West Valley’s 22.
West Valley got an early 4-point lead while the eight Rams swimmers adjusted to the fast pace of their first game. Then, suddenly, two minutes in, Chloe Harmon found the West Valley net, and the tenor of the game changed. Rachel McCarty got two more goals, and Samantha Ng added one more to end the first quarter at 8-4 West Valley.
That ratio was pretty much sustained through the rest of the game. The two high scorers were Alana Ahuna with four goals, and McCarty ended with three. Elaine Thompson got an eye on the net once in the second quarter.
Forty-year veteran referee Vato Mebuke’s whistle was kept busy throughout the game, calling as many errors as goals. It’s a fast game that requires the players to be aggressive and strategic, and the Rams learned to fit right into that philosophy, though coach Phong Pham saw a lot of room for improvement on the strategy side.
Looking back after the game, Rita Williams, the Rams’ goalie, who arguably has the least forgiving job on the team, said, “I didn’t turn on until after the first quarter.” But with a smile added, “Now I feel fine!”
Assistant coach Mike Tyler’s conclusion after the game: “We can be very proud of our performance,” he said. “We need to work on passing and overall endurance.” But he added, “Seeing that improvement was the greatest satisfaction.”
Rachel McCarty, who is on the swim team, said that this was her first water polo game, and she was impressed by the other team, who seemed to know what they were doing. “It was confusing [hearing so many noisy prompts] from your teammates, the coach, the referee, no standing on the bottom, no touching with your hands… it’s a little harder than people think.”
Pham agreed. “I consider it the hardest sport,” he said. “There’s a reason that the Navy SEALs make it a test to be a candidate.”
What will they be working on in the coming weeks? “More conditioning, ball control, learning how to draw fouls, and getting back on counter-attack defense.”
