The boys’ water polo team’s season ended with a narrow 14-13 loss against Corona Del Mar in the CIF Southern Section Division I quarterfinals group play on Nov. 5. The Wolverines, seeded fourth, played at home but were unable to hold off the fifth-seeded Sea Kings, who led for a majority of the match after the first quarter. Corona Del Mar advanced to the semifinals against Newport Harbor High School, where they lost 14-6.
Reflecting on the match, goalie Nathan You ’26 said the team struggled with executing their game plan.
“The coaches put together a comprehensive scouting report for us to use as a cheat sheet,” You said. “But we didn’t use that to our full advantage, and most of CDM’s goals came from plays we knew were coming.”
Despite falling behind in the fourth quarter, attacker Connor Kim ’25 said he focused on staying calm and motivating his teammates.
“I tried to calm [the team] down and let them take a breath and read the game,” Kim said. “Even when we went down by three, I wasn’t nervous because I knew we would find a way to get back in it.”
But despite attempts to rally his team and their cumulative effort, the team never cut down on Corona Del Mar’s lead, which held at around one to two goals in the fourth quarter of play. In their attempt to rally, Kim said the team gave it everything they had.
“At the end of the day we knew this was potentially our last game,” Kim said. “So we let it all out.”
Attacker Jack Shapiro ’26 said he faced challenges maintaining his composure after missing several early shots, which went on to impact his performance.
“I let the noise of the crowd and my minor mistakes get in my head,” Shapiro said. “We need to stop trading goals. Once we score, we can’t just allow the other team to respond right away. It’s all about mentality and who wants it more.”
