Girls’ Water polo Destroys Deerfield

The girls’ water polo team took on Deerfield at home in their first match of the season this past Saturday. The group performed exceptionally well, and Deerfield’s team did not stand a chance against the strength and determination of the squad. The game ended with a final score of 11-2.While the girls had a great match, it was a bit of an unexpected victory. Deerfield’s girls squad was seeded first in the league last year, so the girls and their managers did not expect to win by such a huge factor. Manager Quinn Hickey weighed in on the girls performance. “The girls played really well. I don’t think that any of us expected such a staggering win, but we were all pleasantly surprised,” Hickey said.Upper Michelle Ysrael also expressed her surprise at Big Red’s landslide victory. “We were definitely expecting a more challenging game, as Deerfield was seeded first last year, but they didn't have their main whole set this year. This allowed us to take advantage of the plays we had been practicing and to score most of our goals on counter attacks,” she said.Ysrael also commented on the benefits that came with such a game. “Once we had our lead, we managed to get all of the new girls into the pool to play their first game, which was a great experience for them,” she said.This game presented a great training opportunity for the new girls, and hopefully this will help the squad improve as a whole.Senior Hope Logan was happy with the team’s performance. “Honestly, Deerfield was a lot weaker than we expected. Our defense was able to dominate. We were also faster than them so we scored a lot of goals off counter attacks and steals. Once we scored enough, we were able to put our new girls in and let them get a taste of what a real game is like,” Logan said.Although all of the girls performed exceptionally, some players on the team stood out from the rest. Goalkeeper Natalie Wyatt played a great game and managed to keep Deerfield’s offensive pursuits to a minimum.“Natalie Wyatt in goal did great per usual,” Ysrael said. “She’s a really great player.” Seniors on the team Logan, Diane Lee and Corinne Noonan played well, leading the team’s offense and scoring the majority of goals. “Janet Chen scored the first goal of the season in the first couple minutes of the game, starting us off strong,” Ysrael said.This is a great early season win for the girls, and hopefully, they can keep this streak up. “I’m optimistic for the rest of the season,” Hickey said. “I think we can only get better.”Ysrael weighed in with her opinion on the coming season. “I'm so excited for this season, but we can't prejudge the rest of the season based on this game—the other teams will definitely be challenging, but I think we've started the season with a great attitude, and I'm excited to see us progress as a team this season.”