By JOSEPH NAGY
Staff Writer
This past Tuesday, Girls Varsity Water Polo lost to the Irvine Vaqueros by a final score of 14-5. University falls to a 1-4 record in the first round of league, putting them in fifth place in PCL, ahead of Beckman.
The Trojans started off slow in the first quarter, allowing the Vaqueros to score six uncontested goals. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 6-0 in favor of Irvine.
The Trojans began to find their rhythm in the second, but was no match for the Irvine offense. Irvine’s key passing and consistent shots were too much for the Trojans to stop. The first goal for University came off of a bar in lob from Senior Captain Gauvri Nathwani (Sr.).
After the goal, the Trojans trailed Irvine 7-1. On the next drive, a hard shot from Angela Yan (So.) found the back of the net to make the score 8-2. The Vaqueros would go on to score one more goal before the end of the half, making the score 9-2.
Coming off of a strong performance by the Trojans, the girls looked to try to get back in the game. Defensively, the Trojans were able to get seven steals and keep the ball in their possession. Four of these seven steals came from Yan. Even with the pressure, Irvine outscored UHS in the quarter 4-2 making the score 13-4 going into the final quarter.
Commenting on the team’s performance, Yan said “Our defense seem[ed] to be picking up and despite the loss, the girls seemed more united.”
In the final quarter, University kept Irvine to only one goal. However, Irvine would do the same and the Trojans would fall by a final score of 14-5.
The girls’ performance seemed to have been improving over the weeks and one player to agree is Ali Huxman (Jr.) who did not play due to an illness. “The plays we go over in practice are starting to click and are being executed in games very well,” Huxman said.
University looks to bounce back and looks forward to their next match, which will be this thursday at Beckman. Beckman is the only team behind UHS in PCL standings and the game is expected to be a tough match for the Trojans.
