On Tuesday evening, the Foothill girls’ water polo team traveled to Irvine High School in hopes of continuing their run in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division III championships.

However, the Dragons were halted in the wild card round of the playoffs with a final score of 7-3, in favor of the Aqueros.

Despite the loss, Head Coach Sam Marinaro felt that the team did “amazing.”

In reference to the game, Marinaro knew it was “going to be a fight, and that’s exactly what the girls did.” She also noted her appreciation for the team “fighting until the last buzzer.”

Marinaro believed that over the course of the season, the team “learned how to communicate with one another.”

“At the beginning [of the season] we couldn’t find our groove,” she said. “But watching yesterday’s game, I saw 10 individuals communicating and working as one.”

It is worth noting that the Dragons moved up to Division III this season after playing in Division VII the past two years.

Even with the division change, Foothill was relatively successful throughout the season, with an overall record of 10-16 and a 4-2 record in league play.

Marinaro mentioned that moving to Division III came with challenges.

“It was a rough year,” she said. “There was a lot of pressure and teams were good, but [the team] handled it all well and I couldn’t be more proud.”

The Dragons’ girls water polo program will lose some key pieces of the team for the 2018 season, including star Lezly Plahn ‘17 and Marinaro.

However, Marinaro believes that the future is bright, saying that she “looks forward to hearing all about their success.”

With a Division III playoff berth now under their belt, the Dragons look to get closer to their goal of becoming champions once again.