Boys Water Polo lost to Newport Harbor High School on Oct 12, marking its first loss of the season and bringing their overall record to 17-1.
Previous Matchups
The match was the third game this season between the two schools. The Wolverines previously defeated the Sailors 11-7 to win the South Coast Tournament on Sept 21 and 8-7 to win the S&R Elite 8 Tournament on Oct 5. Going into the game, attacker Shay Gillearn ’21 said the squad concentrated on their pre-game preparation.
“We were all very focused on the things we had prepared for the game and the skills we had been working on in practice,” Gillearn said.
Match Result
The squad opened the game slowly and found themselves down by three goals heading into halftime. However, the Wolverines rallied, outscoring the Sailors by a score of 3-2 in the third quarter. The team continued this momentum in the fourth quarter, with George Avakian ’20 tying the game 9-9 with 3:56 left in the fourth quarter. Eventually, the Sailors stopped this momentum, scoring the final two goals of the match and winning 11-9. Boys Water Polo: Final. HW 9, Newport 11.
The game marked the team’s first loss since Oct. 13 of last season. Center Christopher Arakelian ‘23 described the squad’s mentality after losing this match.
“Now we’ve realized we aren’t invincible,” Arakelian said. “This loss should define the rest of our training, leading into playoffs. We still have lots of work to do.”
Upcoming Games
The 17-1 Wolverines will play on the road at Miramonte High School and Sacred Heart High School on Oct 17, along with the North-South Tournament from Oct 18-19.
