Wopo Buzzer-Beater Drowns Metro
Exeter’s water polo team triumphed in its final regular-season games, winning against Phillips Academy Andover on Wednesday and against Boston Metro on Saturday. Big Red defeated Exeter’s rival, Andover, with sixteen goals to the opposing team’s five, and edged out the Boston Metro club team with ten goals to nine.
“[Taylor Walshe's] full-pool buzzer beater skip shot to give us the 10-9 win against Boston Metro was one of the most spectacular plays I have ever seen.”
The team highlighted its game against Boston Metro as one of the best of the season. Lower Charlie Venci said that co-captain senior Taylor Walshe’s goal scored in the last second of the match as one of the most skillful plays he had ever witnessed. “The play of the week goes to Taylor Walshe,” Venci said. “His full-pool buzzer beater skip shot to give us the 10-9 win against Boston Metro was one of the most spectacular plays I have ever seen.” Senior Avery Giles also excelled in the game after recovering from a broken thumb. Giles scored three of the team’s ten goals.
In addition to the team’s strong performance in its games, the players worked particularly hard in the week’s practices. Venci praised prep Adam Tuchler for “his ability to diffuse an intense situation and motivate players,” and lower Andrew Sun for his unwavering determination in practice. “He put the pedal to the metal and really worked hard on his conditioning and skills,” Venci said.
The younger players credited their captains with encouraging this hard work and for providing support throughout the season. Upper Troy Marrero said that the players who stood out for their spirit were “the captains, as always.” Giles specifically commended captain Jamie Cassidy for his pregame speech that helped the players to prepare for the match. “Our captains kept us in high spirits despite a lot of us being tired this late in the season,” Giles said.
He explained that the players struggled to maintain their energy throughout the week. “The biggest challenge of the week was fatigue and powering through conditioning practices,” Giles said. Venci noted that the team-members strove to retain their determination and prepare for tough games during practice. “The biggest challenge this week was not getting complacent,” he said. He added, “Both teams we played this week were teams we have beaten before and we definitely had a lot of, if not too much confidence going in.”
However, he added that these challenges provided an opportunity for the team to learn lessons before its final tournament. The majority of the second-string players were able to play in both games, allowing Big Red to practice working together. Venci said, “Knowing that we can battle together is going to help us do well against Brunswick.”
According to Giles, beating the Brunswick School is the team’s main goal for its playoffs. In the upcoming Interschols, also known as Liquid Four, the first and fourth teams and second and third teams in the league compete against each other, with the winner of each game progressing to the finals. Big Red, seeded second, will challenge Phillips Academy Andover, placed third in the league’s standings. Marrero outlined the team’s goal to “win a championship.” Venci agreed and added, “Our only goal is to come home with a New England title.” He said, “We are going to work hard in practice this week and make our presence known at Brunswick on Saturday.”