By: Dominic George ’19
Last Saturday morning, the varsity water polo team concluded their run in the Memorial Cup with a 15-11 win over Corona Del Mar High School. The Bells took 7th place in the tournament and finished with an overall record of 2-2.
The Bells concluded their Memorial Cup run on a happy note. Though breaking even in the win-loss column, Cole McKim ‘19 noted that the team will continue to improve and develop chemistry among each other.
“The losses stemmed from a lack of adjustments. We are each very skilled and talented as players. However, we are still building the unity and experience as a team to play a solid four quarters of water polo,” he said.
Bellarmine got off to a slow start in the first quarter, with CDM taking a quick 5-2 lead off a spree of goals. With 27 seconds left, Dominic Kirk ’19 missed a penalty shot, but shortly after, the Bells scored on a well-played tip-in goal. CDM lead 5-3 at the end of the first.
The Bells began an unstoppable frenzy of goals for the remainder of the game, outscoring CDM 4-1 in the second period. Anthony Rethans ’18 sparked many of these drives as he had several perfectly timed saves leading to multiple fast-break plays. They outplayed CDM who seemed stagnant on offense, yielding only one goal. Bellarmine ended the half on a shot that seemed short of the goal line, but luckily sailed in, tying up the game at 6-6.
The third period was when Bellarmine continued their explosive offense, with Dominic Kirk ’19 scoring yet another fast-break goal with 6:20 left to play. There was a back and forth exchange of goals, but CDM seemed to be working more for their shots than Bellarmine. Meanwhile, Bellarmine continued driving down the middle lane, tiring out CDM on defense and limiting their production on offense. Bellarmine lead 10-9 with one quarter left to play.
Not surprisingly, Bellarmine stuck to their gameplan and began to pull away. As Cole McKim ‘19 described, every player began scoring and building off of each other’s momentum.
“Once one player began to hit his shot or pass, the entire team gained that energy and drive to finish the plays. Consequently, the game became more lively and enjoyable for the entire team. Energy is contagious and when our team plays with energy, we are a difficult group to stop,” he said.
At one point of the game, Bellarmine built their lead to 6 goals, placing the dagger into the game with a goal by McKim himself.
Bellarmine will continue their season in the WCAL Finals against Sacred Heart Prep on Saturday.
