Boys Water Polo Dominates Carmel 9-4 in CCS Quarterfinals

The boys water polo team, backed by strong offensive spurts and timely defense, claimed a resounding 9-4 victory over the Carmel High School Padres in CCS quarterfinals today, November 10.

The Eagles got off to a fast start to take a 3-1 advantage in the first quarter by making the best out of early scoring opportunities. As the first quarter progressed, the Eagles never relented on an aggressive offensive attack to force many shots on Carmel. On the defensive end, the Eagles did their job efficiently, preventing Carmel from spending too much time playing offense and stopping some difficult shots.

The dynamic of the game shifted in the second quarter. While the Eagles scored at the 5:46 mark to extend their lead to 4-1, they mainly played strong defense, using significant time on the clock in the offensive zone to prevent Carmel from trying to mount a comeback. They forced turnovers on Carmel shots and also had some good fortune thanks to errant shots by the Padres.

The third quarter saw the pace of scoring pick up for the Eagles, with three goals made to put the game out of reach at 7-1. The Padres had some scoring opportunities early but were denied by the combination of strong Los Altos goalkeeping and drive-killing turnovers. The Eagles first scored with 3:54 remaining in the period. Despite a small period of sloppy offense afterwards, they seemed to regain composure in the middle of the third quarter to score their sixth and seventh goals of the contest. Carmel finally responded to the scoring onslaught of the Eagles by notching a goal with 27 seconds left in the period.

The Eagles scored their last two goals of the contest early in the final period as they continued to limit the Padres chances on offense by coming up with huge defensive stops. The Padres responded with a goal of its own late in the quarter to get within 6 goals at 9-3. Carmel ended the scoring at 9-4 for both teams by notching its fourth goal with 0.06 seconds remaining in the game.

On Wednesday, November 14, the Eagles will face off against St. Ignatius College Preparatory at Serra High School at 7:00 p.m.

[Photos by Juliet Moore]