To start their week, the Islander Girls’ Water Polo team hosted the Bishop’s School last Wednesday. With two overtimes, both teams were neck-to-neck in their offensive play. The end of the first quarter predicted this as the scored was tied at 2-2 (goals scored by sophomore Brooke Lee and senior Sheila Tomlin). By the second quarter, Bishop’s goalkeeper had over ten blocks, and Coronado was struggling to score goals. One goal was scored by team captain Grace Harbaugh, and Bishop’s lead at the end of the half 3-5.
The Islanders recovered after that first half and were all cylinders on offense. Harbaugh scored another goal to give the Islanders momentum in the third quarter, followed by another goal from Tomlin. Seniors Danni Croteau and Abby Sylvester each scored a goal thereafter to give Coronado a one-point lead against Bishop’s. Coronado started off strong in the fourth with a goal by Lee to go 8-6. Less than two minutes were left on the clock when Bishop’s #6 Cap scored two goals against the Islanders’ goalkeeper Michelle Croteau, who had had eight saves so far. The score was now 8-8, and the game would now go to overtime.
As each overtime is three minutes, both teams raise the level of intensity in the pool. Sylvester was able to score a goal within the first fifteen seconds, which was quickly returned by Bishop’s twenty seconds after. With a minute and a half left, Bishop’s scores another goal to go up 10-9. Although fatiguing, the Islanders had to respond if they wanted to go into a second overtime. Fourteen seconds left on the clock, and Lee scores with an assist by sophomore Emmie Muschek, tying the game at 10-10.
Both teams were fatiguing by the second overtime, struggling to score a goal in the first couple of minutes. Sylvester and junior Lauren Gauvin got close to the goal several times, but they were unsuccessful in getting it past the Bishop’s goalie. Unfortunately, Bishop’s was able to get one more goal past Michelle Croteau to win 10-11.
The following day, the Islanders traveled to Irvine, CA to compete in the So Cal Tournament with their first game against Agoura High School. In last week’s America’s Finest City Tournament, Coronado played Agoura in the final rounds and lost 5-9. The Islanders scored two more goals than last weekend, as they fell 7-12 in the first game of the So Cal Tournament. Top scorers were Tomlin and senior Ryan Sund with two goals each.
On Friday, the team played two Laguna Beach High School squads. Against the varsity squad, they struggled both offensively and defensively, losing 4-17. The junior varsity squad was scheduled to play the Islanders that afternoon, which was a complete turnaround. The Islanders took a 7-2 lead at the half, with excellent defense and goaltending by Michelle Croteau. All the Islanders had to do was keep their opponents away from the goal. Although they scored five goals in the second half, Coronado held them off long enough to win 9-7.
Saturday’s games resulted in two more close losses. Having had a 5-2 lead in the first half against Mira Costa High School, the Islanders only scored two goals in the second, while Michelle Croteau only had two blocks. The final score read 7-9, a tough loss for the Islanders. To conlude the tournament, they played Redondo Beach High for a close loss of 10-12.
The team’s current record is eight wins to seventeen losses.
