In the last four games, the men’s water polo team has suffered great defeats and achieved one outstanding victory.
The men’s losses include defeats to Fullerton, 16-5, and to L.A. Valley, 8-2. In the Santa Monica Tournament, the Warriors lost to San Diego Mesa 19-8 but defeated Santa Monica 19-9 to finish second place in the tournament.
Overall the Warriors have a record of 1-3,
“The first three games we played we have not played against easy opponents at all,” coach Corey Stanbury said. “I think our level of play is getting better, but we’re still making some mistakes and the kinds of teams that we’re playing make you pay when you make a mistake.”
Offensive coordination and shooting have been a problem for the Warriors. This is due to the good defensive opponents the Warriors have been facing, and the opponents defense is not creating an environment for open shots.
“Our passing needs to get better and power play has got to get better. We just need to put the ball in the goal. We’ve got some good players, we just got to make it happen,” Stanbury said.
The team is large this season but there are many new players who do not know their role. The players are confident they will find a rhythm with the rest of the team.
“As a team we have been getting better. Our second string has been getting a little more playing time; they’re getting a little more use to it. We’re giving our opponents a run for their money,” Ramon Hurtado said.
In the game against San Diego Mesa, the Warriors were overpowered.
“There were some big strong guys, I mean big. So we couldn’t hold them down,” Stanbury said.
The offense has progressed for the last four games. In the first game against Fullerton, Alex Heck, Michael Gavola, and Chris Smith each scored goals, with Heck scoring three and Gavola two. In EC’s win against Santa Monica almost 60 percent of the players scored at least once, with Gavola scoring five times and Daniel Bender scoring four.
“I got to play everybody, even people I hadn’t played before, so it was fun,” Stanbury said.
The Warriors refuse to let down and are viewing the rest of the season with optimism.
“We’re up for a pretty good season, and we have a big team. It’s going to be a good season,” Kevin Ulloa said.
