Water polo swims to victory

As the buzzer sounds to signify the start of the match, the fans in attendance erupt. The surprisingly loud cheers towards both Samo and opponent Chadwick High School continued throughout the game, and through all of Samo’s great defensive sequences and offensive plays.The game started off tightly contested and back and forth. Samo jumped to a 3-0 lead, only for Chadwick to reciprocate the goals. At halftime, Samo had a 4-3 lead, and seemed to be evenly matched with their opponent. Goalie Aaron Akhavan (’20) had some defensive stops through the first half, but knew that they could gain a bigger lead with some adjustments.“We forced the ball to the side of the pool where most right handers have a tough time shooting the ball. In addition, I got into a groove in the second half, and out communication on defensive is a whole lot better,” Akhavan said after the game. With this in mind, the second half became a different ball game.The team’s performance in the second half was highlighted by plenty of defensive blocks from Akhavan and goals. Cormac Flanders (’21) and Finlay Buchanan (’20) each scored a goal past the Chadwick defenders, and captain Sawyer Koetters (’19) scored three goals in the second half alone. Varsity starter Joshua Threlkeld (’21) didn’t score, but played tough defense throughout the game and has high hopes for the rest of the season.“[We are] extremely confident. Our team showed composure and balanced contribution. It’s still early in the season but we’ve already proven we have all the potential.” Threlkeld said when asked about his expectations for the team moving forward.Like the rest of the team, Coach Matthew Flanders was also satisfied with the team’s performance after they began to dominate after halftime.“We started to play our game... We stopped getting in our own way and won together,” Flanders said about what changed with the team to make a comeback.Samo plays their next home game on Wednesday, Oct. 24 against El Segundo.