By Emma Rosenbaum
Sports Editor
The Mira Costa girls water polo team played its final Bay League game against the Redondo Sea Hawks on Feb. 9. After a hard-fought battle, Costa left the game victorious with a score of 12-6, allowing the Mustangs to tie for first place in Bay League for the first time in four years and move on to CIF.
With both teams playing defensively at the start, the first period had an unexpectedly low score for both teams (2-1). Senior Victoria Southwood made Costa’s first goal, but Redondo was quick to retaliate with a swift shot to the corner of Costa’s goal. Nearing the end of the period, senior Marisa Purcell made Costa’s second shot.
“The game started slow, but we finished strong. As the game progressed, the girls used the skills they learned in practice more, and the improvement was noticeable,” coach John Reichardt said.
Costa picked up the pace as the second period began. Purcell put threeshots into the back of Redondo’s net, while Redondo squeezed in a second goal, ending the first half with the Mustangs leading 5-2.
“The plays that we implement are set around my position in the center. The goals just happen after getting the ball to the right place,” Purcell said.
Costa’s defensive relapse allowed Redondo to score the first goal of the third period within 30 seconds of the start. Senior Jackie Rojas then made three consecutive shots, giving the Mustangs a three-point lead. The Sea Hawks got in another goal before the buzzer, making the score 8-4 with Costa in the lead.
“Jackie Rojas really stepped it up this game. As soon as I put her in she gave it her all. She utilized what we did in practice this past week, and it worked to her benefit,” Reichardt said.
Both teams fired a high number of shots at the goals during the fourth period, increasing the total score. The Mustangs scored the first three goals of the period, the first made by a fast and unexpected corner shot by sophomore Sarah Crist and the other two by Purcell. Redondo then made two goals between Costa’s posts, but Purcell fired back with a successful last shot of the game.
“It was great to end our last Bay League game with a win. We haven’t been champions of Bay League since 2007. This win confirmed our well-deserved title,” Purcell said.
Senior goalie Bianca Magno made a total of 17 blocks in goal. In addition, Purcell contributed six of Costa’s 12 goals, leading the offensive attacks of the game. Rojas came out strong in the third period with three goals in four minutes.
“All the girls did fantastic. They played hard and really improved toward the end. We finished really strong in both the game and the season,” Reichardt said.
Costa now looks to move on to CIF with a record of 20-8 for the season and 7-1 in Bay League. Depending on a coin toss, Costa will start CIF as the first or second seed because of their shared title. Their opponent is still to be determined, but Costa will play on Feb. 15 for the first CIF game. Rojas has high hopes about the team’s upcoming CIF games.
“I think we are in good shape. We still need to work on adjusting to the different teams that we will face, but I am confident that we will do well and give it our all,” Rojas said.
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