LJ b water polo: Game story 10/19

 

Defending against an errant shot by the Dons'

Orion Erwin (#2 white cap, lower left) in

closing seconds are Vikings (from back left)

Weston Bancroft, goalie Vinny Vega (red and

black cap, both hands raised), and Alden Pfau

(far right). The ball hit off the right post.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

The Vikings' water polo team won an exciting 10-6 decision over Cathedral Catholic, a top-three Western League rival, before a large crowd at Bishop's School Thurs., Oct. 20.

"Everyone defended the way they were supposed to," said an elated Tom Atwell, La Jolla's head coach, whose right eye was a little bloodshot over the effort put into the contest.

"We executed the game plan (from Atwell) that was put in place in practice yesterday (Oct. 19)," said key passer/4-5 position scorer Trevor Kula. "We wanted their worst player to shoot," thereby taking away Cathedral's big guns as the central threat.

The crowd's cars filled the underground parking structure at the seaside private school, La Jolla's home-away-from-home during a four-month renovation of Coggan Pool on the LJHS campus.

In fact, during one timeout late in the game, Atwell told his team, "It's our home pool." Let's play like it, and take advantage, was his point.

By then, the Vikings--led by center Soren Martin, and the "two Wests", fellow senior captains Weston Bancroft and West Gartland--held a commanding lead to avenge an earlier 10-7 loss to the Dons in Western League play a week ago Tuesday, Oct. 10.

They went into defensive mode, defending hard and freezing the ball on offense to wisely run out the clock.