Water Polo Falls Short in Championship

EXETER - Big Red boys’ varsity water polo came in 2nd at this weekend’s Interschols, defeating Deerfield 8-7 OT in an exciting semifinals game but losing against Andover 5-6 in the championship game. Although Bear Polo’s hopes of defending their title from the 2012 season came one goal short, this season showed a heightened sense of dedication, hard work, and team spirit from all players.The NEPSAC Championships, hosted at Exeter this year, got off to a good start for Exeter in the semifinals game against Deerfield Academy. After pulling a 3-0 lead following senior co-captain Joe Shepley’s successful shot from the mid-pool line, Exeter managed to hold its considerable lead by the halftime mark.However, by the third quarter, Deerfield closed the gap to tie the game at 5-5. With Exeter’s momentum slipping and Deerfield’s hard press defense going strong, the four quarters ended with a 6-6 scoreboard between the two games.The subsequent overtime period became a new source of motivation for Big Red. After senior co-captain Nick du Pont scored early to bring the team to a 7-6 lead, upper Brooks Saltonstall quickly followed. After six minutes of hard play, Exeter surfaced as the well-deserved winners of the game, taking the victory 8-7.A few hours later, Bear Polo returned to the Roger Nekton Championship Pool for the final championship game against Andover. Against a backdrop of a full, roaring crowd of red and blue, the buzzer sounded to kick off the game that both teams had been working towards for the whole season.Much like the semifinals, Exeter took the first goal of the game with senior co-captain JB Baker scoring early. However, with a newfound confidence after defeating first seed Brunswick School in the semifinals, Andover proved to be a mentally stronger team than earlier in the season.Again, by the end of the third quarter, the game was tied at 4-4, and the last seven minutes would determine the outcome of the Championships. However, with both teams exhausted after a long day of water polo, it appeared that Andover had slightly more left in their tank than Exeter.Although Exeter scored the last goal of the game, they were unable to catch up to the lead that Andover had built earlier in the fourth quarter.Senior Quinn Larkin believed that although the results were disappointing at the end, a season’s worth of hard work showed during Interschols.“I thought we had one of our best games all season during the Deerfield game. We had strong performances from all around, and I think our team and Deerfield’s team were the best in the league. We played our hearts out,” Larkin said.The game also signaled the last time that many of the seniors would play water polo. duPont appreciated the opportunity to be a part of this team during his years at Exeter.“This was definitely the tightest team I’ve been a part of, and I had a great time leading the boys with JB and Joe. This team had a lot of heart and talent, and I’m proud of the way we improved and came together,” du Pont said. “Next year, the seniors may be gone, but the younger players are ready to step up. It’s their team now and I have confidence that they will carry on the Bear Polo tradition.”