The Wilcox varsity water polo team cruised in the pool, building an 11-4 lead over the Monta Vista Matadors on Tuesday, Oct. 22. Monta Vista would add a trio of goals in garbage time to make the final score look a bit more respectable, but Wilcox was more than pleased with its performance, perfecting practice improvements prior to the match.
“Much better,” chimed Chargers Head Coach Rich Cruzen after the win. “We struggled against them playing them at their pool; that was a very difficult game for us. One of our lowest games of the season I would say. We made a lot of mistakes, but now we are peaking at the right time in the season. They are putting everything together at the very end, being more creative, driving more, creating more opportunities. The biggest thing is they are having a lot of fun, which we really emphasize.”
“I definitely thought we played a lot better than we have played typically,” echoed senior Jason Kou. “A lot of our mistakes we have ended up cleaning up over time. I was really impressed how we were able to defend the ball, create movement and communicate throughout the game.”
While the Chargers put the game away in the second half, there were moments that, if they had swung in the other direction, could have changed the game. Kou, in particular, stopped a breakaway chance, coming from behind to get in front of the shooter.
While Kou would get called for an exclusion foul, he avoided a penalty shot infraction by maneuvering his body to the front of the shooter. Wilcox successfully killed off the exclusion power play situation for the Matadors, keeping the score at 4-2 rather than allowing Monta Vista to pull within a goal.
“Exactly,” chuckled coach Cruzen when asked if that was the one kind of exclusion penalty a coach isn’t mad about being taken. “Normally, that would be a five-meter penalty because he was caught from behind, and [Jason] had to pass the guy to get in front to foul him. They called it a kick out, but he didn’t stop him from behind, which is why it wasn’t a penalty. So yeah, we were excited by that defensive play.”
On the offensive end, it was Rami Ebeid who led the way for the Chargers, scoring a whopping six goals. However, the other key moment was a goal scored by senior Zane Sharif.
Over halfway through the third quarter, neither team had scored yet in the second half. At 7-4, it felt as if Wilcox was holding on to a rather precarious lead in a game that it really should be dominating. That’s when Sharif lofted a floating shot from distance as the shot clock was expiring.
The ball ended up perfectly placed into the far corner right underneath the crossbar over the outstretched arm of the goalkeeper. It was reminiscent of a dagger Steph Curry three-pointer.
“Uhh, no. I just credit it to my basketball skills because I play varsity basketball here,” chimed Sharif with a wry smile on whether he practices long-distance lob shots in the pool. “I think that’s just in my nature.”
Sharif’s goal effectively put the game away at 8-4, and fittingly enough, it ended up as the game-winning goal.
As of Oct. 25, the Chargers and the team’s sharp-shooting swimmers are now 10-4 in league, making a strong push toward the postseason.
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