The girl’s water polo team (7-2 overall, 4-2 Central Coast Section) lost 6-7 against Burlingame (13-5 overall, 9-1 CCS) on Oct. 12.
Burlingame outscored the Dons 3-1 in the first quarter with their one goal coming from senior set defender Maddie Dobbs. The team mounted a comeback later in the game. Senior driver attacker Ruby Vogel scored early before Burlingame netted two before the half was over. Coach Kielan Crow’s halftime talk must have inspired the Dons to fight back, with the team outscoring Burlingame 2-1 in the third and fourth quarters.
Despite the results, the team’s performance improved from their last game against Burlingame.
“Even though the outcome wasn’t necessarily what we wanted, … that was one of the best games we have ever played,” said senior co-captain and utility player Ainsley Cornwall.
The Dons know Burlingame is a tough opponent.
“They are a very good swimming and passing team,” Crow said. “So when we would give just a foot of separation, when they were on offense, they would be able to capitalize on that because they were accurate passers.”
“Even though the outcome wasn’t necessarily what we wanted, … that was one of the best games we have ever played”
Burlingame’s speed is also a challenge for the Dons.
“They are known to be an incredibly fast team, [which] makes it so much harder for us to get back down on defense,” Cornwall said.
The Dons came into the game with something to prove.
“This is the second time we’ve played Burlingame,” Crow said. “The first time we had a really slow start. The score ended up being 10-4.”
This time, the team fixed their previous mistakes.
“There was a lot of excitement about a chance to … show how we’ve improved,” Crow said. “The biggest things we focused on were counterdefense and help-defense and they did amazingly well on that today.”
In addition to working on tactics, the team came out with energy and passion.
“The attitude was to be pumped up,” Cornwall said. “We tried to be really energetic, really positive. Our goal of the game was just to keep that energy up the entire time.”
Despite their success, there were some things that the team could have done better.
“There were momentary lapses that really went against what we were doing the whole time,” Crow said. “[The] vast majority of the game, [we] played amazingly well and then there were a couple … silly mistakes.”
“[We] … have really seen a huge improvement in [help defense] and this is the game that we really needed it”
Burlingame’s defense was strong and as the game went on and players got tired, the Dons were forced to take a lot of outside shots.
“When we get really exhausted, we tend not to move as much,” Cornwall said. “Our drives would really benefit from moving more.”
Despite the loss, the Dons are proud of the game and the progress they have made over the season.
“Communication [was a] big [improvement],” Crow said. “They weren’t talking at all at the beginning of this year and now they are talking all the time. … This is [also] the first time we have really seen a huge improvement in [help defense] and this is the game that we really needed it.”
The team is putting the loss behind them and aiming to build upon their performance.
“That’s one of the best things about this team,” Crow said. “[They’re] really positive and supportive so coming out of games like that. It’s more like, ‘Hey, we did really well as a team’ rather than ‘Why didn’t we get one more goal?’”
“It’s more like, ‘Hey, we did really well as a team’ rather than ‘Why didn’t we get one more goal?’”
Cornwall believes the game will inspire the team to keep working hard.
“The mindset for next game is to keep up the intensity,” she said. “The mindset going into this game was so high, so positive… [and keeping] that momentum going throughout the season … should be our top priority.”
The team’s positive attitude and hard work help them constantly learn and improve. Next, the Dons will compete in an away game against Carlmont (0-2 overall, 0-1 CCS)* on Oct. 18.
*Inaccurate because of missing scores
