Boys Water Polo Beats Glendale as Winning Streak Spirals

Another significant win took place in Samo’s Drake Pool against Glendale High School on Sept. 27. With an end score of 21-6, the win got Samo one step closer to the start of Ocean League.Right off the bat, Glendale had one of their players ejected, giving Samo an opportunity to score. By the end of the first quarter, the score was 8-2, giving the team high hopes and positive spirits for the rest of the game.“We ended up coming together and overcoming our challenges which, I think, is what really led us to victory,” Sebastian Zapatero (’19) said. Zapatero scored three goals in this game.By half time, Samo kept their winning streak by adding seven more points. A very noticeable battle for the ball ensued between one of Glendale’s starting players and Ari Niknia (’17). “We ran a six in one play, meaning when left wing gets the ball the entire team shifts over, confusing the other team’s goalie and players,” Alex Weng (’19) said.The game came to a close against Glendale and at that point, everyone got playing time. The top scorer overall was the starting set guard Carlos Edwards-Palmo (’17) who scored six goals by the end of the game and according to Dean Carr (’18), Samo wouldn’t have gotten as far as they did without goalie Richie Smith (’18). “All in all we did really well, but there's always room for improvement,” Quinlan Plukas (’19) said.