Water Dawgs start strong, lose lead
During the Valley League water polo match Jan. 13 at Valley Center High School, Ramona led most of the game but Valley Center led at the final buzzer.
“That was a game we shouldn’t have lost,” said Ramona coach Donnie Williams. “We actually dominated the whole game.”
The Bulldogs obtained a first-period lead only to see the Jaguars come back to tie the score at three goals apiece by the end of the quarter.
“We did a good job the next quarter,” Williams said.
Ramona built up a 7-4 second-quarter lead before Valley Center scored twice to make the score 7-6 at halftime.
“We kept breaking down on defense,” Williams said.
With two minutes left in the third period, the Bulldogs had a 10-6 lead.
“We started putting the goals up,” Williams said.
That 10th goal would be Ramona’s last in the game. Valley Center scored the final third-period tally and was responsible for the rest of the game’s goals in the Jaguars’ 12-10 win.
“We just fell down,” Williams said.
The fourth period included four Ramona players drawing 20-second ejection penalties and the Jaguars being given a five-meter penalty shot.
“We weren’t playing the defense we needed to late in the game and took too many penalties,” Williams said. “We just fell short in that fourth quarter playing defense, not offense.”
Angelina Uriostegui led Ramona’s offense with five goals, and Taylor Shinnick added three scores for the Bulldogs.
The loss gave the Bulldogs a 2-3 record in Valley League play for the 2009-10 season along with a 4-7 overall mark.