Staff Writer
Photos by Raj Jain
Girls’ water polo suffered their fourth defeat in league to Temple City Thursday afternoon, dropping their league record to 1-4. The Tigers could not compete with the strong Temple City offense, despite leadership from new varsity player junior Devun Burt.
The Tigers came out aggressively both on offense and defense with Burt and senior Clarque De Young as the goalie. Temple City started the quarter firing one in, but freshman Hayden Campbell shot back quickly, bringing the score to 1-1. South Pas quickly lost control, however, and the Rams powered four more in by the end of the period. The Tigers trailed far behind offensively, despite Burt managing to power another in. Things did not look up in the second quarter as Temple City racked up six more, despite three De Young saves. The Tigers could not keep up, coming out of the half down 11-2.
The team fell further behind in the third quarter and did not score a single goal. Sophomore Skyler Ramirez took over the defense as goalkeeper, but despite her save, the Rams powered in three. The Rams shot in another to start the fourth quarter. Burt fired in one to finish the game strong, but the exhausted team was far from a comeback as the clock ran out.
This is the first game Burt has played since stepping up from JV to replace junior Bianca Vera. Burt has large shoes to fill, but showcased her offensive skill by coming out of her first varsity game as the leading scorer.
The Tigers take on the La Cañada Spartans nect, who narrowly defeated them earlier in the season. The squad will be striving to improve its Rio Hondo record by defeating the Spartans at home on Monday.
