Staff Writer
Brooke Smith
The Mustang boys Water Polo team ended their season with a loss at Oaks Christian High School, but came out thrilled to have been able to play their hardest and work with each other like a family.
Mira Costa boys Water Polo was defeated by Agoura High School, 9-6 in the CIF quarterfinals at Oak Christian High School on Saturday, November 4th to end their season. The top performers in the game were senior goalie, Paul Matt and juniors Hudson Carter and Colin Le.
“We started the game out very strong in the beginning because we knew how Agoura was going to play, but we grew weary towards the end, resulting in our loss,” Matt said.
In the first quarter, Carter took the lead by scoring two goals. The first goal scored at 5:10, and the second at 3:53 during a 6 on 5 man up play. Carter also had a block, keeping Agoura in check leaving the score, 2-0 at the end of the first.
“In the first quarter we took advantage of them underestimating us, and we were able to finish our shots,” Carter said. “I was in the right place at the right time and I owe all the credit to the people who assisted me on those first two goals.”
In the second quarter, Le scored a goal at 6:09. Le helped with the score by making a goal and Matt blocked two shots but, Agoura managed to respond with two goals leaving the Mustangs to hold a slim 3-2 lead.
“We started getting tired in the second quarter, they changed their offense and we were given a lot of unnecessary penalties allowing them to creep up on us,” Matt said.
In the third quarter, Le scored the fourth goal at 2:16 and Carter scored the fifth at 2:01. Agoura managed to sneak two goals in before the quarter ended and the Mustangs lost their lead ending the quarter, 7-5.
“In the third quarter we started getting very tired, letting up our defense and they started figuring out our system which ultimately led to our defeat,” Carter said.
In the fourth, Le scored a goal at 4:45 making this goal Costa’s last of the season while Agoura took the win, scoring two more goals, and ending the game, 9-6.
“I feel like this season was definitely a success. We did better than last year and we worked better as a team,” Carter said. “Even though we lost we all played our hardest and there wasn’t much we could do to win that game.”
Although the Mustangs ended their season with a loss, the overall season was a success. They finished with a 21-10 overall record and won another title going undefeated, 8-0 in Bay League.
“Our season had it’s ups and downs, but it was amazing to see the progression as we learned how to communicate and play together,” Le said. “It was incredible to win Bay League, which had been one of our goals walking into the season.
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