The stage was
set. Three thrilling games in the regular season set the stage for the premier of water
polo being an official GA-PC sport. The first meeting of the two teams was a regular
season game at Penn Charter. GA prevailed 11-9. In the second game, held at the Inter-Ac
Championship tournament at GA, the Patriots won by the same margin, 9-7. Although the
numbers favored GA, both teams knew that this game was up for grabs.
The game started off with our national anthem and the recognition of
seniors Sean Connors-McBride, Sam Hostvedt, and Luis Perez. Shortly after, the very
anticipated match-up began. The game was off to a quick start in favor of Penn Charter
with a goal 19 seconds into the game. Tough defense occupied the bulk of the first
quarter, but a sweet lob shot from Mike Carroll in the middle of the first quarter tied it
up 1-1. Penn Charter then went on a tear, and emerged with a 4-1 lead with a minute left
in the first quarter. This was the biggest lead they would ever take in the game, however.
A goal from Alex Bond courtesy of an "alley-oop" from Mike Carroll finished the
first quarter scoring. GA had their work cut out for them being down 4-2 after one quarter
of play.
Three straight goals courtesy of Mike Carroll and Alex Bond lit the
spark for a second quarter GA run. Penn Charter was not to be outdone, however, firing two
goals in less than a minute. Brad Test finished off the first half scoring with a minute
left to tie the game 6-6. With a dead even game on the line entering the second half,
endurance would inevitably be a key factor.
In the third quarter with the game at a stalemate, every goal and
every penalty was critical. Germantown Academy set the tone early in the quarter with
goals from Carroll and senior Sam Hostvedt. PC and GA alternated goals for the remaining
time in the third. It looked like there would be a tie going into the fourth quarter, but
Sophomore Alex Bond nailed the top left corner of the goal with one second left! GA had a
cherished 10-8 lead. The stage was set for yet another thriller between these two teams.
Extremely tight defense and conservative play occupied the beginning
of the critical fourth quarter. The Patriots lucked out several times, surviving four
straight crossbar/post shots from the Quakers. The first goal in the fourth quarter was
scored by Penn Charter with about 4 minutes left in regulation. It looked like Penn
Charter was about to tie GA with two minutes left in the game, but you guessed it, they
hit another post. There was now one minute left in the game with GA hanging on to a one
goal lead. This situation is the epitome of a close water polo game. Strong defense
stopped a desperate PC possession, with much thanks to unsung hero Devon Carr. When key
players Alex Bond and Sean Connors-McBride were one "kick-out" (equivalent to a
foul in basketball) from being ejected, Carr took the coveted hole defense position even
though he is the smallest member of the team. GA had the ball with 21 seconds left and a
one goal lead. Perfect passes and positioning by GA enabled them to hold onto this lead,
making GA victorious in the first ever GA-PC day water polo game.
Overall, the GA starting line-up played a flawless game. Luis Perez,
the varsity goalie of two years, had an especially great game. This was the last game of
his career, which was originally started as a favor to the swimmers since they needed a
goalie. A frazzled Coach Peggy Cook stated after the game, "We weren’t sure how
this game was going to go because every meeting this year with PC was extremely close, and
Penn Charter is a very formidable team." Nonetheless, the guys played one of the
best, if not the best, games of the season. They played very well as a team. Many thanks
to our seniors Lu, Sean, and Sam, who played pivotal roles in today’s game. We will
miss them. The final score in the GA-PC Day water polo game was 10-9 in favor of the
Germantown Academy Patriots.
