Samo blasts Chadwick out of the water

On Sept. 20, the Samo varsity boy’s water polo team pushed past a struggle in the beginning of the game to defeat Chadwick High School with a score of 9-3.Throughout the first quarter and first minutes of the second quarter, Samo and Chadwick had a death grip on each other. They were tied 2-2, but team captain Sawyer Koetters (’19) carried the team past the struggle and by halftime Samo was in the lead with a score of 5-2.“I think we all prepared a lot better and got a more focused warm up in, so we were just overall more zoned in for the game,” Koetters said.Coach Matthew Flanders sent Samo back into the water more motivated to hold onto their lead. Chadwick, despite causing a few slip-ups, was unable to crack Samo’s defense. The third quarter contained some of the most intense moments of the game, where in moments Chadwick swarmed in to score, but never made much headway. The third quarter ended 6-3.In the fourth quarter, Samo employed noticeably different tactics. They took more chances in passing and kept the ball moving. Chadwick seemed to lose hope as Samo scored three more goals against them, securing their win into the last seconds of the game. Flanders had a practical answer for what allowed the Samo team to stay energetic into the last minutes of the game.“Focus comes with experience. The more challenging games you play, the better you are at focusing down the stretch,” Flanders said.The game ended with the Samo team leagues ahead at a score of 9-3. With the team clearly ready for the season, their next home game vs. San Marino High School on Saturday, Sept. 30, might be another total victory.