Cate Rams Go 3-1 at BVWP Tournament, Eye League Title

October 7, 2024

With standout performances across four games, including Baye Breene’s record setting 11 goals, the Rams head into a crucial league match against Malibu.

Baye Breene sets record with 11 goals

Buena Ventura BVWP Tournament Recap:

Game 1 vs Thousand Oaks:
The Cate boy’s water polo team kicked off the Buena Ventura tournament with a game against Thousand Oaks High School. The final score of the game was an 8-7 win for the Rams.
Our top scorer was Baye Breene ’25 with three goals. Baye was able to attack the interior of Thousand Oaks all game and convert on multiple drive opportunities. Other goal scorers for us were Sebastian Brine ’26 (2), Jae Wykoff ’26 (1), Elliott Paige ’26 (1), and Fletcher Prince ’28 (1).
The defensive standouts were Jae Wykoff and Christian Busse ’25. Wykoff was a lights-out two-meter defender for us and Busse racked up multiple on-ball steals and shot blocks throughout the contest.
The MVP of the match was goalkeeper Andrew Sheshunoff ’27. He racked up a season-high twenty saves and added two key assists. It was an unbelievable showing for the sophomore. Andrew did a great job cutting off angles and tracking the ball early and often.
Despite the final score being a narrow victory, our guys were in control of the entire match. We were up as many as five during the third quarter and played a clean game overall. We got complacent in the fourth quarter, allowing TO back into the game. We will learn from it and be better at closing out games going forward.

Game 2 vs Santa Barbara High School:
Our second match of the tournament was against Santa Barbara High School. The final score of the game was a 9-2 loss to the Dons.
Sebastian Brine was our lone scorer during the match. Seb was able to convert a power play shot and a counterattack opportunity to go against a really strong SBHS defense. Sebastian has been a steady and consistent offensive contributor for us all season. His shooting and feel for the game have been impressive to watch.
Our defense was excellent all game. SB has multiple guys who are going to be playing college water polo in the next few years and we racked up a ton of stops against them. The score was 0-1 after the first and 1-2 at the half because of our stifling team defense. The wheels fell off a bit in the second half due to fatigue but it was an impressive defensive showing for us overall.
Jae Wykoff held SB’s top offensive weapon to just one goal and goalkeeper Andrew Sheshunoff racked up eight saves during the match. I think we played a high-level game overall, they just matched up really well against us. They took our top offensive threats out of the game early which made it hard for us to find scoring opportunities. SBHS would end up winning the tournament.

Game 3 vs Cathedral High School
The third match of the tournament came against Cathedral High School. The final score of the match was a 15-5 win for the Rams.
Sebastian Brine had a near-perfect performance going five for five on shot attempts. His on-cage shot placement was outstanding and he constantly put himself in the right spots for outside shooting opportunities. Baye Breene also contributed five goals over the course of the match. He did his scoring on post-ups, counters, and out of the interior of Cathedral’s defense. These two have developed a really nice inside-out game that can be hard to stop when both are clicking.
Other goal scorers for us were Fletcher Prince (2), Elliott Paige (1), Jae Wykoff (1), and Emannuel Brine ’28 (1).
Defensive standouts for us were Quinn Vanasco ’25 and Eric Jin ’26. Quinn has proven to be a great two-meter defender, being able to match up with bigger guys and give them trouble. Whereas Eric is super mobile defensively and excels as a help defender. The duo racked up multiple stops throughout the game, playing to each other’s strengths.

Game 4 vs Foothill Tech
The final game of the tournament was for fourth place against a league opponent we know well, Foothill Tech. The final score of the game was a 20-11 win for the Rams.
Baye Breene scored a remarkable eleven goals during the game against Foothill. It was one of the best single-game scoring performances I have seen, both as a coach and player. Wade and Matt(Director and Assistant Director of Athletics) believe that it is a record-setting single-game scoring performance for a Cate water polo player.
It was apparent early that Baye would have a big game as he scored six goals in the first period alone. Baye was able to produce counterattack opportunities for himself all game and could not be stopped. In the front-court, he was able to get Foothill players into foul trouble and score on drives and post-ups. It was an impressive performance to watch.
Goalkeeper Kaden Green ’27 had three second-half assists and 5 saves. Other goal scorers for us were Emmanuel Brine (3), Jae Wykoff (2), Elliott Paige (2), Fletcher Prince (1), and Zadin Stephens ’25 (1).
This was a great tournament for our group going 3-1 on the weekend. We learned about what we need to continue to improve at, and we got some valuable game experience against high-level teams.
Looking ahead, we play Malibu High School on Tuesday for a spot at the top of our league. We have never won a league in school history so this is a big match for us. The last time we played Malibu it was a 7-6 overtime loss, so we are hungry for another opportunity. Go Rams!