Men’s water polo ends season with close loss

By Juju Miyamoto,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

Varsity men’s water polo was defeated on Nov. 6 against Jesuit. The playoff game signaled the end to the 2018 men’s water polo season with a 7-9 loss.

In the first quarter, sophomore Josh Davis scored the first goal minutes after Jesuit scored on Davis High, leading to a 1-1 score.

Junior Zach Callahan fought hard against the shots taken by Jesuit, managing three saves by the end of the first quarter.

“I think it was a very good performance, one of our best of the season. Our goalie and our center really stepped up and kept us in the game,” junior Matthew Belenis said.

In the second quarter, Jesuit racked up two goals before sophomore Trey Doten scored. The second quarter ended with a score of 2-3 after Belenis defended a last-minute shot taken by Jesuit.

During the third quarter, the Devils struggled to get a goal as Jesuit led the game 2-5. Junior Koshan Schiffman and senior Daniel Fineberg managed two more goals before the final quarter.

Junior Jared Hunt believes the team “left it all out there” throughout the game.

The final quarter was a fight for the playoff winning title.

Fineberg scored early in the quarter shorting the lead Jesuit carried after they scored two goals, resulting in a 5-7 score within three minutes of the start.

The Devils continued to fight with Fineberg scoring two goals and bringing the score 7-8 three minutes before the end of the game. In the last minute, Jesuit scored a final goal to result in a 7-9 loss for the Devils.

With the loss, the Devils are not able to carry on to play St. Mary’s and their season has come to an end.

“I thought we played hard, and I’m proud of the game,” Hunt said.