University High School Boys’ Varsity Water Polo glided to a 15-8 victory against Pacifica High School on Sep. 4.

UHS built a commanding 9-0 lead early on and never gave Pacifica a chance to come back. In the second half, the Trojans shut down any comeback attempt and kept the score comfortably in their favor.

While the final margin was decisive, the game featured many exciting moments, with UHS making some great plays in their seven-goal win. One of the main ways they created chances was through their counter-attacking play.

“We did really well on our counterattacks this game,” junior captain Michael Zakharyan said. “As a result of our extensive conditioning over the summer, we were able to out-swim Pacifica.”

UHS had to adapt going into this game, with several players out due to illnesses and injuries. They did not let these unfortunate events stop them, securing their fifth win in two weeks.

“Even though we were missing some of our key starters, we continued to play as a team, working the ball around, and we had high conversion percentages,” senior captain Jacob Shabanie said. “Our defense funneled into our counterattack and gave us a big lead.”

Despite a huge turnout of the crowd and tons of noise, UHS players kept their focus and held a steady lead throughout the game. The win marks the team’s third straight victory, its longest win streak in 2025.

While there were many positives coming from this game from a UHS standpoint, there were many areas for improvement. Some of the negatives coming from this game were how UHS adjusted to a different squad.

“We struggled with our shallow bench, as four of our starters were either sick or injured,” Zakharyan said. “Because of the shallow bench, it was hard for us to set up our offense fully.”

UHS is set to face Northwood High School on Oct. 7.