Boys water polo to playoffs after overwhelming victory against El Segundo

The boys water polo team ended their season with an overwhelming victory over Culver City 18-5 in the Ocean League finale of the season on Nov. 4. Samo has regained their throne as Ocean League champions for the second consecutive year. However, they share this year’s title with El Segundo, who also holds a 7-1 league record.At a good start, Samo started off the game against Culver City with several points scored almost immediately. Not a single goal was made for the opposing side, whilst the home team scored every goal they attempted at.Entering the second quarter, Samo was winning 12-0, their impenetrable defense and solid offense was overwhelming for Culver City’s poor defensive capabilities.Into the third quarter, 2-meter, Carlos Edwards-Palmo (’17) cut through the opposing defense and scored a shot. Soon after, Culver City scored their first point, but immediately following that, Samo answered with two consecutive goals.As the final quarter began, everyone knew the victory was going to Samo. Still, excitement continued with plays like when utility Jacob Guyette (’16) scored a half-court shot into the goal, and later utility Matthew Holt (’16) entered the opposing team goal to push the ball in, surprising the goalie and scoring a point to Samo.Toward the end, goalie Richie Smith (’17) left the goal to steal the ball from the other team’s players. He went in against two players, and emerged ball in hand, raising cheers from the bleachers. The victory went to Samo 18-5.After the game, the players all jumped in the water, and head coach Matthew Flanders flew into the pool with them. They cheered and rejoiced, a perfect ending to the regular season.“(The victory) was well-deserved,” utility Joseph Robson (’16) said. “It’s been actually three years in the making, and we’ve been trying really hard to get here.”With many highlights in the season, key players consistently expressed their water polo prowess with tricky backward shots, half-court goals, 2-meter shot blocks, and many other neat tricks to awe the audience.Aside from an impressive display of talent, Samo has been doing notoriously well this season. They did not lose a single home game and scored more than twice the other team’s score in almost every game.Maybe next we’ll be seeing Samo up above all of Los Angeles as the team is now heading to CIF playoffs.