Girls polo remains perfect after second straight tourney win
The Live Oak girls water polo team placed first in the Valley Christian Classic this weekend after winning an exciting 8-7 game in overtime against Aptos to remain perfect.
“We played a close game against a quality team,” said coach Bryan Traverso about the championship game. “It also showed that we have some areas in which we need to continue to work on. It was our best game of the year as far as emotion and attitude was concerned.”
Lanning had six of the Acorns eight goals in the game including the decisive goal in the sudden death overtime. Ronni Gautschi and Breanna Senert also added goals. Danielle Maldonado had five saves.
“In strictly playing terms, it was not one of our best games,” Traverso said. “We took poor shots, and our passing was erratic. We had a few defensive lapses that allowed Aptos to score a few goals. Yet I was extremely happy that even though we did not play one of our best games, we were able to match Aptos’ physical style and not be intimidated. I think this is an important learning experience for the team in that we now know that we can play a physical team and still win and not be intimidated by such play.”
Live Oak (10-0, 2-0 TCAL) opened up the tournament with an 11-2 win over Leland. Lanning (four goals) and Gautschi (three goals) led the way. Sennert had two goals and Laura Melroy and Monica Cline each had one. Maldonado had nine saves.
“Though we won 11-2, I thought we came out flat and did not play smart,” Traverso said. “Passes were all over the place. They were flying everywhere except into the cage. We played lazy on defense. This pretty much sums it up how we played the first three games of the tournament.”
In the second game, Live Oak powered over Monterey 10-2 with four goals from Gautschi and three from Lanning.
Cameron Bair had two goals, and Laura Marshall had one. Maldonado had six saves for the Acorns.
Live Oak defeated Willow Glen 11-6 in the third game. Lanning had four goals, Gautschi had three, Cline had two and Bair added a goal. Maldonado again came up strong with seven saves.
“We have played against some good teams, but I am excited to play against those top teams like St. Francis, Sacred Heart or Menlo to see where we stand as a team and what improvements we need to make in order to compete with these teams,” Traverso said about the team’s quick start to the season.
The Live Oak girls will play on Tuesday against Salinas, while the boys play at Salinas.
