By Cate Meister
The Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) boys’ water polo team played against the La Quinta Aztecs on Tuesday, Sept. 28. The game, which was also the FVHS Associated Student Body Game of the Week, resulted in a 9-2 victory for the Barons.
The team started off aggressively with several early shots on the goal from senior Bryce Leach and junior Ruben Andelin. Meanwhile, sophomore Daigo Fujita put up a strong defense, helping to move the ball across the pool and to defend the goal alongside goalkeeper sophomore Nathan Tran.
Leach was responsible for the first goal of the game, which occurred early in the first quarter. The quarter finished with a score of 1-0.
Continuing his streak into the second quarter, Leach scored again after an offensive drive across the pool. Just after Leach’s second goal, a fast turnover of the ball from the Aztecs to the Barons led to the game’s third goal, made by Andelin raising the lead to 3-0.
After a substitution made by FVHS midway through the quarter, La Quinta scored in spite of the team’s strong defensive efforts, leading the score to 3-1.
Later on in the quarter, sophomore Peter Thinh brought the score up to 4-1 with an assist from senior Sean Zuckle. Following a final goal by the Barons, the first half of the game closed with a score of 5-1.
Adelin obtained the ball immediately at the start of the third quarter and took it to the goal for a five-point lead of 6-1.
After several strong passing sequences by the Barons, Thinh passed to Fujita who brought the score to 7-1 with a clean shot on goal. In turn, Fujita’s pass to Andelin resulted in a quick turnaround and another goal for the team.
FVHS’s final goal of the game came during the middle of the third quarter. A pass by Fujita afforded senior Ben Merrill a close shot on goal, increasing the tally to 9-1.
The Barons’ offensive momentum slowed in the last quarter of the game; however, they remained defensively strong thanks to efforts from Fujita and Tran. Still, one goal from La Quinta did slip by for a final score of 9-2.
FVHS boys water polo will compete against Edison High School at Los Alamitos High School on Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 5:10 p.m.
