Varsity Boys Water polo lost to Brea Olinda High School during a home match Monday, Oct. 3.  

During the first quarter, driver sophomore Jayden Huang scored a point bringing the score to 3-1. Assisted by wing sophomore Jakob Villasenor, they brought the score to [placeholder]. In the second quarter, Villasenor was assisted by his goalkeeper and defended five goal attempts from Brea Olinda.

“We tried our best during the game and our team has grown as a whole,” Huang said. “Regardless of the loss, [we] have become much stronger and are more determined to defeat not just Brea again, but all the other teams as well.”

In an attempt to push them back, Brea Olinda pressured Walnut into collapsing their fourth driver position in favor of a stronger offensive when taking a weaker defensive position. Left Wing (Villasenor) was able to defend a majority of attempts to make a goal by Brea Olinda and was followed by block after block by Villasenor. 

During the last two quarters, offensive plays resulted in a major point difference with Brea Olinda receiving a majority of the points. The score eventually settled at 8-23 with Walnut taking a severe hit to their score for the league.

“We definitely made it a game and a hard challenge for [Brea Olinda]. They definitely went out and had an actual [strategy] going and they were trying really hard,” Villasenor said. “We were really doing the same and we got a few goals off too. We [felt] really connected and especially from a [bonding activity] we did on Friday.”

Using the techniques and coordination provided to players during the bonding activity, several points were scored from the callouts provided by Coach Bryan Canchola and Coach Ashley Garcia.

“Our coordination significantly improved after that activity and [helped to] assure us [that we would have] a synchronized team,” Villasenor said. “Although [we] had lost, it is still in our [faith] that we can still continue to play as a threat to the other water polo teams.”