Led in part by two goals from senior Nadia Arude, the Wilcox Chargers delivered the Fremont Firebirds a rude awakening in the third quarter. The Chargers put the Sept. 17 game out of reach by scoring five times in the third period of play.
After holding just a slim 3-2 lead at halftime, Wilcox took an 8-3 lead into the final frame and cruised to an 11-6 final. Starring alongside Arude for the Chargers were Allison Gardner with four goals and Avery Townsend with a pair of scores.
“We noticed we were getting pretty tense and we just needed to take a moment and go back to our fundamentals,” noted Gardner on how the Chargers powered up in the third quarter.
“One of the things I’ve noticed in my four years here is we do play well under pressure,” added Arude in responding to how the team managed to turn the jets on in the third. “As a team, we talked about being aggressive; don’t give up, keep pushing.”
In the first half, it seemed like the visiting Firebirds were pushing the Chargers to the limit. Down 1-0, Fremont star Anna Koretsky scored on a nice backhand shot with the shot clock running out to tie things up.
Koretsky would again tie the game up at 2-2 in the second quarter on a nice pass from Ella Walker.
Unfortunately for Firebirds supporters, Wilcox would put the game away with three quick goals in the third quarter. After Fremont briefly tied things up at 3-3 with a penalty shot goal by Isabel Headley, Wilcox got goals from Townsend, Arude and Orion Traister.
“Thus far this season, we’ve been in games that were a bit more lopsided with us being the stronger team, so I think we haven’t had the experience of facing a team that is evenly matched or possibly better than us,” noted Fremont Co-Head Coach Erin Kaprelian. “I think we got a little bit complacent going into the third quarter. Water polo is equally a mental game as well as a physical game. It’s something we definitely have to work on and talk about as a team.”
“I think that we got a little bit away from basic water polo,” added Co-Head Coach Ari Swan. “Everything started to get really fast, instead of slowing down and executing what we know how to execute. We kind of got it back in the end once we slowed down and started setting up again, started moving and talking to each other.”
Fremont players Mia Macauley and Julianne Sheridan shared similar sentiments on the team, seemingly getting tired in the second half.
“I think we were maybe making better choices in the first half,” remarked Sheridan. “We were a little bit less tired than we were in the second half. After we fell behind in the second half, our attitude got defeated a little bit.”
“I think as the game progressed, we got more tired,” echoed Macauley. “And it gets harder to swim back and defend those opponents who have really good shots.”
With the loss, the Firebirds fall to 2-1 to start the season. Wilcox on the other hand, boosted its record to 2-1.
Previous Water Polo Articles:
Chargers Overcome Choppy Start
Fremont Water Polo Preps as a Playoff Underdog
Firebirds Cruise Past Chargers, Clinch El Camino Championship
Wilcox Water Polo Cruises Past Cupertino