The girls varsity water polo team started their season with a 13-3 victory over the Willow Glen Rams on Wednesday, August 30, shutting the Rams down for two high-scoring quarters before running down the clock for a successful finish.

Senior captain Julia Santos led the way, scoring seven of the Eagles’ goals, while sophomore Alesia Piercy shone with dedicated defense, repeatedly getting steals and blocking Willow Glen’s efforts.

“I feel great,” head coach Katie Buzzetta said. “It’s always a little nerve wracking to go into our first game of the season, but the girls were really focused and were able to put four full quarters together.”

The first quarter began with a strong start from Los Altos, showcasing solid defense from junior goalie Alex Warren and an aggressive offense from Julia, who scored the first goal with a corner shot.

In the remaining minutes, senior Brynn Walther, sophomore Olivia Cairns and Julia each scored to end the quarter with a 5-0 lead.

The second quarter saw a continuation of Los Altos’ success in the first quarter. Alex blocked all three shots attempted by Willow Glen, while Julia, Brynn and junior Cynthia Yee all scored to end the second quarter with a 8-0 lead.

The Rams made their first shot of the game in the third quarter, ending hopes for a potential shutout. Brynn and Julia each scored again, along with sophomore Sydney Johnson, bringing the third quarter to a close with Los Altos leading 11-1.

The fourth quarter brought Willow Glen the potential of a comeback after they scored two points. However, the Eagles continued to make strong plays, keeping up the tempo they had set at the beginning of the game and finishing with a score of 13-3.

“I thought [the game] was pretty good, especially for our first game,” Brynn said. “I’m excited to play with these girls and we have a really young team, so I’m excited to see how they all develop.”

Coach Buzzetta shared a similar sentiment.

“We set a list of goals and one of them was limiting our turnovers, and the other one was making sure they were communicating throughout,” Buzzetta said. “They checked all the boxes there.”

Following the success of the first game, Buzzetta has high hopes for the rest of the season.

“I’m very excited for the rest of the season,” Buzzetta said. “There’s always a lot more work to be done, I think you can never really be comfortable where you’re at, but the girls are working hard. We have a young group out there and our returning players are doing a really good job trying to get them up to speed, so I’m very excited.”

The Eagles look to build on their early success against Homestead on Tuesday, September 5.