Girls’ water polo learns from loss to Los Gatos

The girls’ water polo team is trying to rebound after its early-season losses to Los Gatos on Sept. 3 and Mountain View on Sept. 17.

The girls’ league season began on Sept. 8 in a narrow 6-4 loss against Half Moon Bay. Earlier, the girls were disappointed in their 14-0 loss against Los Gatos, but they admit that the loss itself was not shocking.

The Falcons are at a disadvantage because of the difference in team size; Los Gatos has 20 players, while Saratoga has 11. In the sport, six players compete in the pool at a time, meaning that the Falcon team is not large enough for two rotations, while Los Gatos has more than enough for three.

“Los Gatos is one of those powerhouse schools where everyone gets sit out for like a minute to catch their breath before going back in,” Liu said. “For Saratoga, if you’re in the pool, you’re working [extremely hard], but you have to keep going all the time and physically, you get super tired.”

The team has learned that the the most important thing is bonding together and doing that will result in better outcomes in games and development for the future.

“If we play well, that would be a bigger pay off to us than winning would ever be,” Liu said.

Despite their loss to Los Gatos, the Falcons have shown great improvements and played hard during the season, as evidenced by their narrow loss to Mountain View, with a final score of 11-7.

In the Mountain View game, senior Jace Welton scored three of the seven goals and was dominant in the offense.

Currently, Welton leads the team’s scoring and is a star player, if not the team’s best player. According to junior Kanika Vora, she is able to lead the team with her communication and agility. Junior Sandy You is the team’s goalie.

The girls were significantly prouder of their play in the Mountain View game than the Los Gatos game, as they feel they had better communication and confidence.

According to Liu, the girls are taking the lessons they learn in  their games as well as from their fellow players and putting them into practice. For example, they have greatly improved their defense over the season and will continue to improve all aspects of the team.

“Our next step is probably focusing on offense and creating more smart movement in the pool,” Liu said.