Brooke Smith
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa girls water polo team defeated Peninsula High School, 13-3, at home on Dec. 11. The top performer of this game was junior Leigh Lyter scoring a total of five goals and not far behind was sophomore Elizabeth Terry with four goals.
“Penn is not one of our top competitors but the game was great practice for our game against Palos Verdes on Thursday,” Lyter said.
In the first quarter of the game, Costa came out strong scoring five goals leaving us with a 5-0 lead. Senior Camille Lyter scored one goal, and junior Celeste Almendarez scored two more goals, leaving Leigh Lyter to score the other two.
“We spent a lot of time in practice making releases and passing under pressure,” Camille Lyter said. “It really paid off in the game and we were able to get the ball and score on counter attacks.”
In the second quarter, the Mustangs continued to dominate the game and not give Peninsula a chance to score. Costa was able to score three more goals, giving them a 8-0 lead, with sophomore Maiken Pardon scoring one goal and Terry scoring two goals. Junior goalie Erin O’Donnell also helped the Mustangs keep their strong lead by blocking three shots.
“During the second quarter we established our presence and made it apparent we were going to win the game,” Terry said.
In the third quarter, the Mustangs kept their lead although Peninsula was able to steal one goal. Leigh Lyter added to Costa’s large lead by scoring an additional two goals, and Terry scoring one as well, leaving the score 11-1 at the end of the quarter.
“We beat Peninsula down the pool every possession and converted a lot of them into goals,” Terry said.
The Mustangs allowed Peninsula to score two more goals in the final quarter, but that was not enough for Peninsula to catch back up. Terry scored Costa’s final goal, ending the game with a Costa win of 13-3.
“Our fourth quarter was awesome because the people who wouldn’t normally get in the pool as much, got a lot of playtime and could show their hard work they’ve been putting in this season,” Terry said.
The Mustangs now have a record of 2-3 overall, and are scheduled to play their next game at Palos Verdes against Palos Verdes High School on Thursday.
“With hard work we have been putting in the past few weeks, we are expecting to have a good game,” Terry said. “As long as we come out with the same intensity in the Peninsula game, we are going to have an awesome turnout in the Palos Verdes game.”
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