By Faye Witherall & Olivia Nouriani
Tiger Staff
South Pasadena varsity boys’ water polo suffered a tough 9-7 loss against Pasadena High School in the Tiger pool on Friday, their second loss in two days..
The team remained strong throughout the first quarter, and came out of the period in the lead. By the end of the half, however, the Tigers were trailing 5-3.
Although they played with aggression and energy, The Tigers were unable to regain control of the game. Senior captain Ryan Rodriguez dominated offensively and scored four of the seven goals, with help from sophomores Vaughn Huelsman, Benjamin Schroeder, and D.J. Meyer, who each notched a goal in as well..
Senior goalkeeper Will Renken played a consistently strong game, and held down the fort with well-executed saves. In the end, he was unable to shut down the Bulldogs’ offensive attacks.
Despite the team’s disappointing record, the demanding preseason has not dampened their optimism for league glory.
“We’ve had a tough preseason, but we scheduled games against tough teams on purpose so we can gain experience, ” Renken said. “Come league I think we’ll turn it around.”
This is the squad’s third defeat of the week and they hope to pull out of this series of losses before league season begins on October 7.
The Tigers are back in the pool at Santiago High School on Tuesday.
