Exploding out of the water and bringing his arm up to shoot, freshman Albert Lao was surrounded by the nervous feeling that filled the pool. As his shot graced the back of the net, cheers serenaded Lao, as he had possibly given his team the win in the last minute of a long, physical match.
On Sept. 30, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) boys water polo team headlined action against Villanova Preparatory School (Villanova) in a closely contested match at the Ventura Aquatic Center. Foothill Tech ended up on top with a final score of 8-7.
“The energy has gone up a lot. We definitely didn’t believe we were going to win this game with the injury of our goalie 20 minutes before the game. But I think we are going to be more confident when we play Villanova again and other teams,” junior Dean Liddel said.
Foothill Tech fell behind with a 2-0 deficit early in the first quarter, but junior Connor Morris put Foothill Tech on the board with a tight near-side shot. Villanova seemed unfazed by this goal; however, as they finished the quarter with a long-distance shot to go up 3-1.
The low-scoring theme of the game stayed consistent throughout the second quarter as sophomore Rider Martenson made an intense save off the goal line. Foothill Tech and Villanova traded goals to put the score at 4-2, with Villanova in the lead. Just as the end of the half came near, Jaxson Brown ‘29 scored in the hole as the buzzer sounded to cut the lead 4-3.
“Our goalie got injured before the game, so I had two players, who usually play other positions, step up and they came up big,” head coach Mike Hendrickson said.
The score remained stagnant throughout the third quarter until Morris struck again late with another goal from the wing to set up an intense fourth quarter with the score tied.
“I told them to just keep playing the way they were. Don’t make passes that lead to counterattacks. Play smart and don’t make passes that lead to turnovers. The only thing we really gave up were outside shots,” Hendrickson said.
In the first minute of the final quarter, Liddel scored from the hole to give the Dragons their first lead of the game at 5-4.
After Lao’s go-ahead goal in the final minute, the Dragons were able to hold out for the last few seconds until the final buzzer sounded. With the win, the Dragons evened their overall record at 5-5 and took a 1-0 league record.
“I think [the goal] was a huge momentum change. At the start of the start of the game, we were definitely like, ‘we’re going to lose this game’, and then when we started making that comeback, we started getting more enthusiasm, and the go-ahead goal was really important to us,” Liddel said.
