Girls Water Polo Splits Their Opening Season Games

December 11, 2024

Girls Water Polo Season Gets Underway

Cate Girls Varsity Water Polo had their season opener against Del Sol High School. We started our season the right way, finishing the match with a commanding 14-8 win.

We jumped to a lead thanks to a structured counterattack and unselfish play. Almost all of our goals were on assisted opportunities. Our girls had great vision, passing under pressure, and strong finishes all game long.

The goal scorers were Betsy Peters ’27 (5), Lucy Guilbert Neal ’25 (3), Violet Monda ’26 (2), Madeline Kollock ’26 (2), Carmen Lack ’26 (1), and Chloe Chen’27 (1). These six are all returners and had fantastic showings. Not only were they effective scorers but they controlled the flow of the game, played outstanding team defense, and showed great leadership.

Betsy commanded the middle of the pool all day. She produced at a very high clip and opened up scoring opportunities for her teammates. Having a lefty who can pass and score is a weapon that we look forward to utilizing more as the season progresses.

The defensive standouts for us were Madeline Losey ’26 at two-meter defense and Ellie Walmsley ’27 in the goal. Losey racked up six steals out of the middle while Ellie had eight saves and some amazing outlet passes. These two anchored our defense and helped fuel our counterattack.

We had several new water polo players earn valuable experience in the pool and make solid contributions. Alena Ballat ’27, Mila Hurst ’28, Pari Malik ’27, and Maria Salyards ’28 all played at a high level in their Cate water polo debut. They got to their spots quickly, worked well together defensively, and even racked up a few assists.

This was an impressive start to our 2024 season. We moved the ball well and played for one another for four straight quarters. The defense was sound and allowed us to get out on the fast break.

Yesterday, December 10th, our Cate girls varsity water polo team hosted a non-league match against Louisville High School. The final score of the match was an 18-1 defeat. Louisville is a skilled, physical team that was able to exploit our early-season weaknesses. They came out of the gates pressing and countering as a succinct group that clearly had great experience and chemistry playing alongside one another.

Tallulah Bates ’25 converted our lone score of the game in the second quarter off of a terrific shot from the point position. Louisville shifted from a press to a zone after our center got solid position in the middle. Tallulah was able to attack the open space in front of her and capitalize off of the opportunity. A well-placed shot to the top right corner beat the Louisville keeper who we struggled to score on all game.

Our defensive execution got better as the game went along. We made a point of emphasis to try and not get beat out of the middle in the second half. Our girls showed flashes of running an effective zone defense against a great center, limiting her opportunities late in the game.

Yesterday’s game was an eye-opener for our group. We didn’t bring our best stuff and we learned a lot about areas of growth for our team. It was good to be tested against a great opponent before we get into the heart of our league schedule. We look forward to bouncing back on Friday with a better showing against Santa Paula High School. Go Rams!