By Emily Chan
On Tues. Jan. 6, Fountain Valley High School Girls’ Water Polo (0-3 league, 2-14 overall) went head to head with the Los Alamitos Griffins (2-1 league, 8-12 overall). Key players were Junior Cameron Bridges, senior Maggie Rogers and senior captain Rita Wilton. Bridges and Rogers both made many critical assists throughout the game and Wilton drove the Barons’ offensive efforts. Although the Barons put in their best effort, they were ultimately overpowered by the Griffins, losing with a score of 0-22.
Within the first two minutes of the first quarter, the Griffins scored five consecutive goals, bypassing the Barons’ defensive lines. The game reached a minor stalemate, with the Griffins making three failed attempts to score on the Barons; with two minutes left on the clock, Wilton tried to generate a goal, but wasn’t able to secure a shot powerful enough. In the final two minutes, the Griffins scored four more goals, the first quarter ended with a score of 0-9.
30 seconds into the second quarter, a Griffin offender saw an opening within the Barons’ defense and made a center shot into the cage. Two minutes later, the Griffins bumped in one goal and made a powerful corner for another. The Griffins initially missed scoring a third time before rebounding the ball back into the goal. In the last minute, goalie Maggie Rogers was able to block the Griffins’ next attempt to score, with Wilton thwarting another advance right next to the cage. Yet, despite the Barons efforts on defense, the Griffins scored once more. In the last ten seconds, Wilton attempted to make a soaring goal but missed the cage by just an inch, ending the second quarter with a score of 0-16.
By the third quarter, the Barons’ tightened up on defense as they blocked the Griffins’ ability to score until the last two minutes. In those last minutes of the quarter, the Griffins continuously secured the ball and were able to score on the Barons four consecutive times. The third quarter ended with a score of 0-20.
The last quarter commenced with the Griffins making two attempts at securing goals, but after ultimately failing, the Griffins made their final two goals, ending the final quarter with a score of 0-22.
“[They] did well communicating, and [their] effort was really good. [Additionally, their] intensity and their shooting were all things they did well with today,” Coach Kai Fujita said.
The Barons will continue to work hard to end their season off strong at their last home game on Tuesday, Jan. 27, against Corona del Mar High School (2-1 league, 11-7 overall).
