WoPo Loses, Approaches Must-Win
Boys’ varsity bear polo fell to Deerfield Academy 5-8 last Saturday in a disappointing loss. The boys left frustrated by their lackluster performance and want of intensity. Down 0-4 in the first quarter, the boys let Deerfield slip far ahead early in the game and struggled to catch up afterward despite their comeback in the latter half. The defeat was more than just a loss, though. Now, with a 7-6 season record, Big Red is in a tight position; to secure their invitation to the New England tournament, the boys must win their next game.
Many on the team were disappointed in their performance. To many, the loss against Deerfield was the result of a lack of intensity rather than a lack of skills.
“I think we didn’t play as hard as we should have. We got complacent as a team, and we were beaten because of it,” co-captain and senior Ernesto Brown said.
“While it wasn’t our best performance and just a frustrating game, I thought that those who played all four quarters showed incredible resilience and determination. That is something to be proud of regardless of the outcome.”
In the first quarter, the players did not swim back quickly enough on the turnovers and as a result, defense slacked, allowing Deerfield to score several easy goals. “We needed to play hard-pressed defense and be in the passing lanes to lock them down, but we struggled, so Deerfield had an easy time putting goals on us. Going into the game our main priority was good defense, but that was our greatest flaw,” lower Taylor Walshe said.
Several thought the team should have brought more intensity to the game from the beginning, and to compound the defense’s faults, the boys’ offense also waned. “Our offense did not go well. We did not pass the ball well into the two-meter player,” prep Peter Tuchler said.
Several other factors affected the game as well. All week, the boys had been working hard in practice to capitalize on kick-outs. Kick-outs in water polo occur when a defender commits a major foul. The player who committed the offence is then kicked out of the game for twenty seconds. During this time, the opposing offense gains a six on five advantage.
Kick-outs are typically quite common during water polo games, so the boys were looking forward to using their new plays to their advantage Saturday. In the game against Deerfield, however, there were surprisingly few kick-outs.
Furthermore, on the few kick-outs there were, several unfortunate calls were made against Big Red, according to lower Avery Giles. The boys’ rehearsed six on five plays depended on passing the ball into the two-meters player, but the referee said their play violated the rules.
Their play, however, was legal.
Although flustered by the first quarter and the different obstacles that beset the team, overall, the boys fought valiantly in the subsequent quarters and remained positive in the face of their difficult situation. The boys always try to look toward their playing rather than the numbers. “While it wasn’t our best performance and just a frustrating game, I thought that those who played all four quarters showed incredible resilience and determination. That is something to be proud of regardless of the outcome,” co-captain and senior David Shepley said.
Big Red bear polo will be looking for a comeback this Saturday against Loomis Chaffee School. The boys’ chance of competing for the New England championship will be at stake next game. While their invitation depends on the other teams’ performance in the coming weeks, to guarantee their spot at the New England tournament, the boys will have to beat Loomis Chaffee. But Exeter never goes down without a fight—the boys intend on bringing the Big Red heat Saturday.