Boys water polo suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Palo Alto in its final home game of the season yesterday, October 31. Thursday was also senior night, on which seniors Sam Lisbonne, Derrick Lu, Surya Ram, Jordan Stout and Ryan Seltzer were all honored for their dedication to the water polo program.

The Eagles, seniors in particular, were determined from the start to win and fought hard to the very end, but the Vikings managed to come out on top with a final score of 11-12.

Palo Alto seized control of the game in the first quarter, putting the ball in the net several times before the Eagles responded. Los Altos’ recurring problem of poor defense led the Vikings to obtain a considerable advantage in the first quarter. A last second goal by Palo Alto finished off the first quarter with a score of 2-4.

“Our team has definitely has gotten a lot stronger after last weekend’s tournament, but we still have problems with defense,” junior Sean Nguyen said. “We have the talent and skill to put the balls in the cage, but we just need to be able to help our goalie out and keep from getting scored on.”

The second quarter also began shakily as the Eagles shots either were met with solid blocks from Palo Alto’s goalie or narrowly missed the goal. However, by halftime, Los Altos picked up steam. Two solid shots by Los Altos, one top right corner shot from the perimeter and another shot scored with only two minutes left in the quarter by Sam brought the score to 4-6.

The third quarter began with a lob by Palo Alto, but was met with a quick response by Sam and Ryan, who scored in rapid succession. An impressive near half court shot from Ryan brought the score to 6-8.

The Eagles then scored for Palo Alto, with an unfortunate headshot into their own goal. However, another goal by Sam and another half court shot by Surya managed to tie up the score, 8-8.

The two teams rallied back and forth for the remainder of the game, with neither side gaining a considerable edge over the other.

In the final 20 seconds of the game, junior Bryan Kim drew a penalty. Sam shot, but his goal was blocked by the Viking goalie, finalizing the score at 11-12 and bringing the game to a disappointing end.

Los Altos looks to prepare and gain momentum in time for the SCVAL Championship, beginning this Tuesday, November 5.