On Tuesday, January 31, the Coronado Islander girls water polo team celebrated their three seniors: Sofia Goikoetxea, Abby Reyes, and Tayah Bubulka at their home match against La Jolla High School.
Sofia Goikoetxea began playing competitive water polo with San Diego Shores and Coronado in sixth grade. She made the varsity team as a freshman and plays club water polo in the high school off-seasons. Sofia plans on majoring in business on a pre-med track, and hopes to become a physician and a property investor. Although she is unsure of which university she will attend in the fall, Sofia knows that she will continue her water polo career at whichever school she attends.
Abby Reyes swam competitively in middle school and began playing water polo her freshman year of high school. Her strong affinity for the pool and competitive nature both allowed her to pick up the sport quickly. Abby has been on the varsity team all four years of high school and plays on the tennis team in the fall. She attributes her success in water polo to being a student of the game and learning through fellow seniors and alumni. Although Abby has not decided on which college she will attend, she plans on majoring in neuroscience or biology to pursue a career in the medical field as a trauma surgeon or neurologist.
Tayah Bubulka has been swimming since freshman year and joined the water polo team this year as a first-year player. Due to a rotator cuff injury, Tayah was unable to finish the season, but she has helped manage scoring at games. Still undecided about where she wants to go to college, Tayah hopes to major in architecture.
This Senior Night match-up was perhaps one of the most intense games the Islanders have ever competed in. The crowd was electric, the new Tiki mascot was present to cheer on the girls, and the Islanders certainly delivered a night to remember.
For preface, La Jolla had an impressive record of 18-7 while the Islanders stood at 7-6. In their previous game the Islanders had just edged out the Vikings in overtime 6-5, and La Jolla surely wasn’t going to live this down. It was an opportunity for both teams to assert their dominance and claim victory over their greatest rivals.
During the first period, the Vikings managed to fire two shots into the goal while the Islanders were, unsurprisingly, hot on their tails. Junior Caraline Wastila scored the first Islander goal of the night after several well-timed passes to end the first 2-1.
During the second period, the La Jolla offensive was equally as electric as the Islanders. Wastila hurled another one past the goalie’s reach to tie the game 2-2, but La Jolla skipped in a penalty throw to take the lead once again. Both teams fired multiple shots, which were deflected by their respective goalies, and the second period ended with a narrow Viking lead 3-2.
The intensity kicked up a notch during the second half as the girls knew they needed to score in order to tie the game. Junior Allie Ralston made the third goal of the night after what was perhaps a lucky shot as the ball bounced off the rim of the goal and behind the goalie, adding another point to the scoreboard.
Still, the teams were neck-and-neck after the third, with the Islanders trailing and needing to score. In the last period, junior Megan Ledgerwood hurled one into the back of the net, closing the gap to 5-4 with just 37 seconds to play. Unfortunately, the Islanders were unable to score and send the game into overtime, and while this was a close match-up, the senior stars of the night certainly shined brightly.
Next up for the girls will be the CIF Division 1 playoff against La Jolla on Saturday, February 11, at 8:30 AM.
