Boys' water polo defeats Sunny Hills High School in first round of CIF on Nov. 8

Adrianna DinolfoSports Editor

The boys’ water polo team, after finishing Ocean League last week, began its run in California Interscholastic Federation [CIF] competition on Thursday, Nov. 9 in an intense game against Sunny Hills High School. Though the game ultimately resulted in a Samo victory of 9-8, the game was very close, and the boys had to overcome many obstacles in order to solidify a win and progress to the quarter-finals

In the first period, the teams’ play was evenly matched. Though senior and sprinter Kairo Dilla scored the first goal of the game, Sunny Hills scored another goal almost immediately after. The first period ended with a score of 3-4, with Samo only down my one.However, as the boys entered the second period, their play weakened. Senior Kiarash Zenali was rolled from the game due to an offensive foul, which in turn took a toll on the entire team. The term roll refers to a situation in which a player is kicked out for the remainder of the game. Despite this setback, the team was able to tie the score at 6-6.It was during halftime when the referees realized that when Zenali was kicked out, they were supposed to have granted Sunny Hills a penalty shot. As a result of this mistake, the referees decided to move back the clock to this point in the second period, recalling the score back down to 4-6 and starting off with a penalty shot against Samo. After the end of new second period, the score was now 4-8 as opposed to a tied 6-6, essentially wiping away the two goals Samo had already made in the second period.“Water polo is a sport that is more dependent on the interpretation of the officials than many other sports,” coach Matthew Flanders said. “It was a crushing call to roll the clock back. The boys did not take it well, and our play was not great going into the half.”The boys, though angered and thrown off by this decision, rose to the occasion in the second half.“Even with the odds against us, we proved that we were the better team,” senior and goalie Jack Schwartzman said. “At first we all felt like we were being cheated out of our first CIF game, and morale was definitely down. Instead of complaining, we refocused ourselves and came out with a much more energetic second half.”With an enthusiastic crowd and support from their fellow teammates, the boys were able to solidify five more goals and keep the shutout for the remainder of the game. The team was forced to be mentally and physically strong in order to secure outside shots from juniors Matthew Cianfrone and Jackson Hauty as well as accomplish steals by junior Damian Kenyan and senior Kairo Dilla.“The second half was truly amazing to watch,” assistant coach Niall Skehan said. “They had to win that game twice.”The crowd, larger than it normally is, played a significant role in supporting the team and demonstrating school spirit.“The crowd definitely influenced and helped us through the second half,” Dilla said. “We had to fight two teams: the opponents, and the refs. The crowd was like the gas to an engine. It gave us confidence and boosted our energy.”Junior Robbie Staenberg too gave a lot of credit to the passionate audience.“When players score, the crowd rewards them, and when they miss, they are encouraged to play better defense immediately.Without this crowd I personally don't know if we would have come back from the second half deficit,” Staenberg said.With this impressive victory under their belts, the boys are preparing for their quarter-final game against Los Osos High School at Samo on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 11 a.m.“It is such a huge advantage playing at home. Our crowd knows the game and the environment is electric,” Flanders said. “We are hoping for a repeat of that support on Saturday.” adinolfo@thesamohi.com