Paly boys’ water polo (6-3-0, 8-5-0) fell short to Mountain View High School (8-0-0, 14-3-0), losing 8-7.
The Spartans won the first sprint and after a few minutes of play, scored the first goal of the game. Quickly after, however, Bret Pinsker (‘13) managed to put the ball in the net, tying up the score at 1-1. Mountain View quickly gained another two goals, sending the ball past goalie Brent Schroder (‘13) before the end of the quarter, giving them a 3-1 lead over the Vikings.
Though Mountain View won the sprint again in the second quarter, Paly came out strong, with Pinsker quickly scoring another goal. Towards the end of the quarter, Pinsker scored a third goal, tying up the score at 3-3 for the half.
The Spartans found themselves with a quick goal in the beginning of the third quarter, and after a five meter penalty on Quinn Rockwell (‘13), they managed to send another ball into the back of the net. The Vikes stayed strong and kept pushing on offense, but could not seem to get a shot past the Spartans’ goalie. Mountain View continued their offensive drive, scoring another two goals on Schroder, finishing the quarter with a 7-3 lead.
The fourth quarter started off with another five meter penalty against Brian Berry (‘13), which resulted in a goal for Mountain View. Soon after, there was a five meter penalty, this time against Mountain View, and Pinsker scored for Paly. Pinsker kept up the momentum for the Vikings and scored his fifth goal of the game. Andrew Cho (‘15) followed Pinskwer with another goal for Paly, decreasing the point differential to two. In the final seconds of the game, a five meter penalty was called against the Spartans, giving the Vikings another chance at goal. Nolan Perla-Ward (‘13) scored the final goal of the game, bringing the final score to 8-7 for Mountain View.
“We played well, but we missed too many little things and we didn’t take advantage of opportunities,” Pinsker said. “It just added up in the end.”
The Vikings’ coach agrees with Pinsker that the team fought hard in today’s game.
“It was a hard physical game and we played well, except for the third quarter,” Coach Matt Johnson said.
The Vikings will face Monta Vista High School on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 6:45, at the Matador pool.
