Water Polo Splits DH with Choate, Williston

Last Saturday, girls’ water polo had two more fantastic home games. In their first game against Choate, the girls worked hard to keep the game close through the first and second half. Sadly, despite their determination, they lost their lead at the end of the game, dropping it 6-5.

However, in the second game against Williston, the girls rallied and pulled ahead with an early lead. Their second half intensity surge powered Big Red over the Bobcats, crushing Williston 9-1.

“Both games progressively became more and more intense and well-played. As a new player, I learned a lot from just watching the games.”

Coming into the game, the girls’ water polo team was confident in its performance and excited to apply some of what it had practiced into the game. Senior and captain Michelle Ysreal said, “We have been running a lot of important drills like picks and 5 v 6s, which we actually got to use in the game.”

In both games, the team started off to a slow start, but then as it raised its intensity and communication, it brought itself back into the game. Senior Janet Chen said, “The Williston game started off slow, but after a productive halftime we were able to score 9 unanswered goals in the second half.”

To gain a lead in the Williston game, the team believes it was forced to focus on placing its shots more precisiely to score, which won Big Red a lead soon after halfitme. Ysreal said, “[Upper] Carolina Martinez and Janet Chen were key shooters in both games.”

The girls attribute much of their performance in these two games not only to their many hours of practice time but also to the coherence and determination that they are forming as a team. Upper Madison Hillyard said, “The group worked very hard, and everyone was exhausted after each game.” 

Another factor that led to their overall success was that much of what they worked on in practice, the girls believe, showed up in the games, allowing them to effectively demonstrate their dominance in the pool.  Ysreal said, “Even though we lost the Choate game, we were able to use the picks and plays we’d been working on and played strong defense.”

After securing a firm lead in the Williston game the team also put some of their newer players into the game to gain experience. Among these new players was prep Maddie Shapiro, who turned out to be one of the key shooters for the Exeter team. Upper Caroline del Real said, “Shapiro scored two amazing goals this weekend. It’s always the most rewarding part of being a returner to watch someone new really get the game for the first time.”

Other new players also found it beneficial just to see the skill and intensity that the starting players demonstrated in the pool. Upper Moonlan Zang said, “Both games progressively became more and more intense and well-played. As a new player, I learned a lot from just watching the games.”

Overall, these two games prepared the team for the rest of the season while also helping it recognize the areas in which it could improve.

Chen said, “In both games, we played some of the best water polo we’ve played all season, and these games are a great springboard into the second half of the season.”