Water Dawgs follow loss to Falcons with wins over Titans, Cougars
By Joe Naiman
Ramona High School’s girls water polo team lost its first game of 2013 at home against Torrey Pines, but earned wins at Poway on Jan. 4 and at Escondido, Jan. 11.
“We played some really top teams in the county,” said coach Donnie Williams.
The loss against Torrey Pines was by an 8-5 score.
The Falcons scored the first two goals. Ramona came back with a first-period goal, and Torrey Pines took a 3-1 lead with three seconds left in the first quarter.
Ramona and Torrey Pines each scored three times in the second period for a 6-4 halftime score. The Falcons scored both third-quarter goals while Ramona had the only score of the fourth period.
“The girls played hard in that game,” Williams said. “I think we played solid defense, and I think we played good offense.”
Paulina Bernd scored two of Ramona’s goals. Megan Kinnaman had her first varsity goal, and Jocelyn Schwegler and Cassie Bernas also scored for the
Bulldogs. Ramona goalie Tiffany Larson made eight saves.
“I think the girls were glad to play Torrey Pines that tough,” Williams said. “The girls played well.”
Ramona had three 20-second penalties due to exclusions in the first period against Poway, but still had a 2-1 lead when the buzzer sounded. The Bulldogs took a 5-1 halftime lead.
“The girls are all starting to play
stronger,” Williams said.
At one time Ramona had an 8-4 lead, although the Titans scored the final third-period goal at the buzzer. Ramona’s fourth-quarter score produced a 9-5 final result.
Ramona had a total of 11 exclusions which resulted in three extra-player scores for Poway.
“Out of 11 that’s still not bad,” Williams said.
On two occasions Poway had a two-player advantage, but the Titans scored neither time.
Schwegler led the team with four goals and also had three steals. Holly Smith had two goals and nine steals.
“She’s really stepping up her game,” said Williams.
Kinnaman, Rachel Hogervorst, and Josie Ward had Ramona’s other goals.
Larson made seven saves.
Ramona was supposed to play at Valley Center on Jan. 8, but a Valley Center medical situation led to a postponement. That day the heater in Ramona’s pool broke. There was no practice in the pool Jan. 8 or 9.
Williams, a 1979 El Capitan High School graduate, arranged for practice in the
Vaqueros’ pool the night of Jan. 10. The broken heater also caused postponement of Ramona’s scheduled Jan. 10 home game against Canyon Crest.
Escondido’s home games are played at Jim Stone Pool. The Bulldogs led 6-0 after one quarter and 12-0 at halftime before the use of substitutes and a focus on execution rather than scoring limited the Bulldogs’ further offense. Ramona ended up with a 14-2 victory.
Ramona’s scoring included senior Chelsea Volk’s first varsity goal. Larson was among the players rested, and backup goalie Morgan Wallace made six
saves during her time in the nets.
The win over Escondido gave Ramona a 6-5 season record. The Bulldogs host La Costa Canyon in Friday’s game.