Tess Heagy
Staff Writer
Foothill High School’s water polo team broke the Mustangs’ four game winning streak in the Division 2 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) tournament finals.
Costa faced off against Foothill on Saturday in an away game that ended with a 6-4 loss.
“We had a really good attitude going into the game, but we were a bit too cocky and that got the best of us,” senior Hudson Carter said.
Foothill scored three consecutive goals early on in the first quarter. Junior Ryder Theodore scored the Mustangs’ only goal of the quarter making the score 3-1.
“The team was a little flat coming into the game,” senior Troy Gleason said. “We spent a lot of time and energy preparing and playing in the semifinals and the whole process was pretty draining.”
Costa continued to fight hard in the second quarter with goals from Carter and Gleason. Foothill generated 12 shots, but Costa’s senior goalie, Garrett Allen, blocked them all. At the half, the teams were tied with a score of 3-3.
“We went into the second quarter determined to get the score up,” sophomore Dillon Clifton said. “We came out [tied] and thought we had a chance at winning.”
The Mustangs kept the momentum from the first half going into the third quarter. Both teams only scored one goal, making the score 4-4 going into the final quarter.
“I really thought we had them after the third quarter,” Clifton said. “We just lost it in the fourth quarter.”
Costa failed to score in the fourth quarter, while Foothill scored two key goals to give them the lead. Foothill’s strong and aggressive defense pressured the Mustangs’ offense, allowing Foothill to prevail with a final score of 6-4.
“We got unlucky with a lot of close shots that we missed and a lot of opportunities we usually [would] have taken advantage of,” Gleason said. “Regardless, we still played a great game and had a great season.”
The Mustangs, now 21-7 overall, will play next in the the Southern California Regional Tournament against Harvard Westlake today at Ocean View High School.
“We are going into the game with an open mind,” Carter said. “We plan to play our hardest and do everything we can to win.”
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