Boys waterpolo faces heartbreaking CIF semi-final loss
Katja Snyder / Contributor
Boys’ water polo after their CIF Playoff win on Nov. 6 against Mission Viejo.
The Samo boys’ varsity water polo team capped off their season on Nov. 12, 2024. The Vikings’ made it all the way to the CIF Semifinals and ended the season with an overall record of 19 wins and 16 losses and a record of 3-5 in league play.
Despite losing 11 crucial seniors last year, this year’s team adapted and exceeded expectations. Some star players this season are Ethan Fitzgerald (’25) with 145 goals this season, Colby with a total of 82 goals, Ronan Maynes (’25) with 49 goals, and goalie Jake Levin (’26) with one goal and numerous saves. Head Coach Matthew Flanders noted how the team’s resilience helped them throughout the season.
“The team just kind of rolled with the punches and took each game one at a time. Their patience ended up really paying off, they never lost hope. Next season I am hoping for more of the same. Make CIF and go far!” Flanders said.
Numerous Samo players also made the All-Bay League and All CIF teams. Fitzgerald made the All-Bay League 1st Team and All-CIF D3 1st Team. Maynes made the All-Bay League 2nd Team and All CIF D3 1st Team. Colby made the All-Bay League 2nd Team and All CIF D3 2nd Team.
Boys’ water polo finished their league season with a win on Oct. 23, 2024 against Malibu High School. Samo then moved on to CIF playoffs in Division lll; their first game was against Beaumont High School, which they won with a final score of 23-10. They won their next two games in CIF. Their success took them to the Semifinals, where their season came to a close. Team captain Jackson Colby (’25) reflected on the team’s performance during the Semifinal game, a moment where the team faced a great shift in momentum.
“Right before the end of the third quarter I scored a goal and after that everyone was just ready to go,” Colby said.
The Semifinals was a close game against Los Osos High School, with a final score of 6-7. The teams took turns scoring points, with the crowd on the edge of their seats the entire game and only gaining relief when Samo took the lead. A final shot from varsity player Zephyr Fehmers (’26) would have tied the game, sending it into overtime. The goal went in right as the buzzer sounded. However, it was sadly not counted towards the final score as fellow teammate Fitzgerald was inside the two-meter mark. Varsity player Maynes explained what was going through his mind as the buzzer sounded.
“I was just numb, I was really in shock for five minutes. I could not believe that we lost, we were so confident in ourselves that we were gonna win. I was still proud of the team because we worked so hard that entire season, day in day out. We just put so much effort into the season,” Maynes said.
