Girls’ water polo suffers 6-12 loss against Malibu
Foothill Technology girls’ water polo defenders attempt to block a shot from Malibu and try to keep their hopes of winning the match alive.
January 22, 2023
On Jan. 17, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) girls’ water polo team readied themselves to compete in a fierce battle against Malibu High School (Malibu) in one of the final league games of the season. In a relatively lopsided match, Malibu secured the win 12-6.
In the first half, Foothill Tech started with the ball. Avery Buehner ‘26 set a fast pace early with sharp passing and strong communication.
Goalkeeper Larrisa Myers ‘26 stayed reliable with blocks in goal and Lauren Happle ‘26 displayed enthusiasm throughout the first and second halves. Malibu competed with equal determination, responding with numerous goals to give them a lead at halftime.
Avery Ranola ‘25 led the offense with strong drives, enacting several effective plays and helping the team put the ball in the net. “They did so well in the game. They usually stay back but in this game they drove and actually made a goal,” stated Emma Flores ‘25 when reflecting on the players’ performances.
Coming off of an optimistic first half, the team tried to maintain the same intensity but underestimated the exertion it would take.
Players slowly began to lose energy and the tide began to turn towards Malibu’s favor. Foothill Tech’s goals became more and more sparse and the connections that had led to goals in the first half were unsuccessfully executed.
In the last quarter, Flores and Buehner made several moves towards the goal in a final attempt to close the gap but the Dragons were losing their stamina. Passes became “kind of panicked and not very accurate,” remarked Flores.
Between the combination of exhaustion and lack of subs, Foothill Tech ultimately fell to Malibu, 6-12.
When asked about the team’s performance during the second half of the game, Coach Sarah Shah stated, “I think that we just got tired. We just were not used to playing like that a lot like this because we went so hard in the first two quarters.”
Although the game was one of the last of their season the Dragons have another chance to prove themselves in their next game against Cate School at the Ventura Aquatics Center.
