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The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

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Boys' water polo bounces back to beat Homestead, 17-8

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Junior goalie Daniel Armitano reacts to a shot during the Palo Alto High School boys’ water polo game against Homestead High School on Thursday. The Vikings beat the Mustangs with a final score of 17-8. – Rachel HarrusThe Palo Alto High School boys’ water polo team (4-4, 2-2) took an easy 17-8 win over Homestead High School on Thursday at Paly.

After a tough lost against Monta Vista this Tuesday, the Vikings came out firing against Homestead.

“It felt good [winning after the loss],” coach Giovanni Napolitano said.

The Vikings put away the first goal of the game just two minutes into the first quarter. Senior two-meter player Marcos Motta received the set pass from junior Aaron Zelinger and put the Vikings in the lead, 1-0.

In the next possession, senior captain Ken Wattana found the net with a lob shot off the foul, but the shot didn’t count as it left his hand as the clock expired.

The Vikings used every second of their offense, getting shots off of every possession. Defensively, the team played hard man-to-man press defense, making it difficult for the Mustangs to convert.

“We’ve been working with each other for a year and a half now and we see each other like 12 hours a week,” senior captain Lucas Fodor said. “We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we are able to work off that.”

Wattana went for the lob shot a second time with two minutes left in the first quarter, increasing Paly’s lead to 2-0.

The Mustangs, however, were quick to respond with a sweep shot, making the score 2-1. Their offensive momentum continued with a clean defensive steal to set up the counter goal, tying the game at two goals each.

With 10 seconds left in the first quarter, Homestead repeated its counter, successfully leading by one to close out the quarter.

“We didn’t expect them to come out so hard, and we fell back the first quarter, but we quickly adapted to their playing style,” Fodor said.

Paly came off the second quarter sprint ready to play, firing a missed shot but controlling the ball and gaining repossession. Wattana passed inside to sophomore two-meter player Brett Pinsker to tie the score 3-3. Homestead kept the pressure on by following the Viking’s goal with an outside shot that gave them the lead, 4-3.

The Wattana-Pinsker duo scored a repeat goal and once again tied the game, 4-4.

With a slew of goals from the Vikings’ offense, the team finally began to break away, ending the second quarter with a strong 7-4 lead.

Part of their success is attributed to the Vikings’ new play.

“Gio has had us work on a new pick play, and it seems to work really well,” Fodor said. “They [the other teams] don’t seem to see it coming. If [it is] done right, it allows us to have two men completely open in front of the goal.”

In the third quarter, freshman driver Will Conner and sophomore utility Quinn Rockwell both scored goals. Wattana also contributed two points with his game hat trick, pulling the score to 11-6.

In the final seconds, Homestead tried to get back on the scoreboard with a shot from center pool, but it deflected off of the cross bar. At the other end, the Vikings drew a kick out to begin the fourth quarter with an additional player.

The Vikings won the sprint, leading into their six-on-five offense which allowed Zelinger to score a goal. The Vikings’ lead increased with two more goals from senior driver Jack Smale and Fodor, making the score 14-7.

The Mustangs put up one more goal, but the Vikings finished strong with a total of 17 goals in the net.

Despite the impressive lead, some Paly players acknowledge that their performance wasn’t perfect.

“I don’t think we played as well as we could have,” Pinsker said. “I definitely think we played better than we did against Monta Vista [High School], but we can play better. I definitely think we are pursuing a better victory.”

The Vikings have the weekend to prepare for their next game against Mountain View High School.

“We have a few new plays, which we are still learning,” Napolitano said. “ It [the plays] makes our offense stronger. The goal is to learn more of these offensive plays by next Wednesday.”

Their game starts at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 30 at Paly.

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