Rainy weather did not stop the Dos Pueblos High girls’ water polo team from making a strong statement in its CIF-SS Division 1 opener.
The Chargers dominated defensively on their way to an 11-5 victory over visiting Corona Centennial on Thursday at the Elings Aquatic Center.
“I think the girls were just fine. It’s water polo so they are going to be wet anyway. It doesn’t affect them too much. The ball didn’t get slippery. Leading up to the game just having it a little bit dreary might have brought the mood down a little bit but they showed up to play,” said Dos Pueblos coach Chris Parrish of the elements. “I was a little worried, we didn’t know anything about Centennial. We had only seen scores, we weren’t able to get game film on them.”
Kyra Jones and Alina King got Dos Pueblos off to a strong start with first quarter goals, but the Chargers likely should have had a larger lead going into the second period after three narrow misses due in part to excellent play by the Huskies goalkeeper Clarysa Sirls.
However, Dos Pueblos was able to extend its lead to 3-0 on a goal by Franki Court early in the second quarter.
After back-to-back goals by the Huskies cut the Dos Pueblos deficit to 3-2, Dev Wigo took over the game with three consecutive goals to end the first half as the Chargers grew their lead to 6-2.
“The focus that we have for most of the season is just defense,” Parrish said. “It’s a stupid cliche but if they can’t score, we can’t lose. If we can control the tempo on the defensive end we’ll be really good.”
Dos Pueblos broke the game open early in the third period with two quick goals by Addison Parrish and Wigo to make it 8-2.
After a Corona Centennial goal, Wigo scored another on a breakaway and Court scored from close range to take a 10-3 lead into the fourth.
“They put enough shots away, but the goalie from Centennial is really good and made some crucial blocks,” Parrish said. “She did a good job keeping them in the game. I’m just proud of the girls for finding the open player and making the easier shots.”
The Huskies outscored Dos Pueblos 2-1 in the fourth quarter, including a goal from their goalkeeper Sirls with two seconds remaining.
The victory was an impressive start to what could be a long run by Dos Pueblos in the CIF0SS Division 1 playoffs.
“When we’re playing San Marcos in the (Channel League) championship, we’re playing an Open Division team. That’s the best team we’re going to play against all year,” Parish said. “We’re not going to see anyone that good in the playoffs in Division 1 so they’re optimistic and I’m optimistic going in. I think we have enough talent and enough depth to hang with any team in Division 1, so we just need to put it together for the games ahead.”
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