After a tough loss against Newport Harbor High School, the boys’ water polo team played their first two league games last week.
On Tuesday, the Islanders faced Clairemont High School to kick off league play. By a margin of five goals, Coronado was able to dominate much of the game. “We won 12-7, but overall, the performance was poor,” said Coach Castillo. “We are continuing to work on a few different defenses, but as we saw on Tuesday, we are not there yet.” One the top performers was Mason Farley, who drew many ejections, allowing the team to practice “man-up” situation plays. This occurs when there are fewer players on the opposing team.
La Jolla High School was then hosted by Coronado on Thursday. At this point in La Jolla’s season, they have played twice as many games as Coronado, giving them more game experience this season. This game was far closer, as Coronado only lost by one goal. Andy Rogers, one of the starters for Coronado, ran into foul trouble early in the game, meaning that the entire team had to raise their level of play. During the first half of the game, Coronado led La Jolla by three goals. Nate Smith had many key goals, but as players began to feel more and more fatigued, their opponents took the opportunities to score four more goals. La Jolla’s goalie also took away scoring opportunities from Coronado, resulting in a 4-5 loss for the Islanders.
“One of our areas to focus on is our stamina,” commented Coach Castillo, “which is what it came down to on Thursday. A strength of ours is our defense, as we kept La Jolla at five goals. In comparison to other teams in our league [who] are letting them score as much as twelve goals. The main thing that we need to work is our offensive side.”
This weekend, Coronado plays in the “America’s Finest City Tournament,” one of the biggest tournaments of the season.
This Week’s Games:
- Thursday, September 21 vs. Campolindo High School at the BBMAC @ 6:00 PM
- Friday, September 22 – America’s Finest City Tournament at the BBMAC
- Saturday, September 23 – America’s Finest City Tournament at the BBMAC
