Story by Ruby Foudy
Staff Writer
Photo by Kaitlyn Lee
Staff Photographer
Boys’ water polo was defeated by the San Marino Titans on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Despite the Tigers’ strong performance in the first three quarters, they struggled to keep up with the Titans in the last quarter, resulting in a loss.
South Pasadena started strong in the first quarter, with senior goalkeeper Caleb Dephouse stealing the ball from the Titans before they could score. Dephouse then passed to senior Jackson Wingard, who handed off to senior Nathan Greene. Greene secured the Tigers their first point. After the first point, the Tigers lost the ball, and San Marino swooped in, gaining two points and putting South Pasadena behind 2-1.
Soon after, the Tigers regained energy, and a shot from senior Theo Hilger captured another point for South Pasadena. San Marino bounced back with a point of their own, leveling the score to 3-2. The Tigers got in one last shot before the first quarter ended 3-3.
The Titans gained the first point of the second quarter, which was quickly met with a hand off from Hilger to Greene. The score tied 4-4. After many blocks from Dephouse, the ball was eventually passed to senior Kenta Fernandes, whose aim granted the Tigers yet another point. Following Fernandes’ goal, a long back and forth ensued. Neither team made significant progress until San Marino broke the spell with a point, ending the second quarter 5-5 — a tie yet again.
After halftime, South Pasadena came back strong with another shot from Hilger. Even after a succession of blocks from Dephouse, the Titans still managed to score, bringing the score to 6-6. The point seemed to give San Marino an energy boost, as they did not hesitate to gain another shortly after. A foul to Fernandes stole the Titans’ thunder, earning the Tigers a free throw and another point. At the last second, San Marino scored again, ending the third quarter at 8-7 with the Titans in the lead.
Greene started the fourth quarter with a powerful shot, gaining the Tigers their eighth point. No further progress was made by either team until there were two minutes left on the clock and San Marino scored a point. Immediately after, Hilger made a shot, landing the score at 9-9. Despite the short time frame, San Marino ended up gaining two back-to-back points, causing the Tigers’ spirit to dampen. San Marino scored the final point, ending the game with a Tiger loss 12-9.
South Pasadena’s next game will be at home against Monrovia on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 4 p.m.
