The boys’ water polo season was cut short by a 10-9 loss to Salinas on Thursday, Nov. 13 at home. Winston Rosati (’16) led the team in scoring with six goals.

Lucas Novak (’15) was disappointed in the team’s performance and the end result.

“We were just not on tonight,” Novak said.

In spite of the eventual loss, the game started off strong for Paly. Rosati scored four unanswered goals in the first quarter, resulting in a score of 4-0 in favor of the Vikings going into the second quarter.

Salinas improved in the second period, starting with a goal. Justyn Cheung (’16) scored another for the Vikings with an assist from Novak. Rosati then scored his fifth goal of the night, but the Cowboys managed to score five more and tied it up 6-6 with seven seconds remaining in the first half.

The third quarter was relatively uneventful, with neither side seeming to be able to score. With less than a minute left to play in the quarter, Salinas slipped a shot in and took their first lead of the game, 7-6.

Both teams brought up the intensity in the fourth quarter. Rosati scored on a five-meter shot to tie it up again, 7-7. Andrew Jozefov (’17) scored twice for the Vikings, but Salinas scored three goals in the quarter to finish the game 10-9.

According to Rosati, after the beginning of the game, the Vikings had trouble keeping the momentum going.

“[We] had a strong first quarter, but after that, the other team adjusted to our play style and we struggled to [adjust to theirs],” Rosati said.

Cheung had a similar opinion of how the game went.

“We did really well in the beginning, but as the game went on the team fractured,” Cheung said. “We just didn’t trust one another, and we [went] for individual plays.”

Despite the loss tonight, the team was happy about their season as a whole.

“Our season was successful,” Rosati said. “Once again, we succeeded people’s expectations.”

Because of the playoff loss, the team will not have any more games this season. They will return next fall looking to improve on this year.

“Next season we hope to be dominate in leagues and go for first place in CCS,” Rosati said.