One of the many scoring opportunities for the Sea Queens.

The CdM girls water polo team swam circles around the Laguna Hills Hawks in a one sided slaughter, scoring at will throughout the game. From the first whistle, the Sea Queens clearly dominated the game, both out playing and out classing the surprised Laguna Hills team. Scoring an incredible 13 goals, the girls managed to hold the Hawks to only three goals, a product of hard defensive work.

When asked about their quick lead, coach Chaney said that it was a product of, “ Our counter attack and quick defense.”

The Sea Queens began the game with incredible speed, and their efforts immediately paid off. A quick offense tore apart the Hawk’s defense, scoring goals with practiced efficiency. However, the defense makes the difference, and the CdM defense was rock solid. Despite numerous exclusions, the Sea Queens managed to stop any attack, which was largely the work of goalie Alex Musselman. All elements of their play came together, and the girls ended the half with a satisfying 9-0 lead.

As halftime came to a close, Laguna Hills was determined to avoid a shut out, and finally began to make offensive progress. After multiple stops, the defense finally cracked, and the Hawks put two shots into the back of the net, making the score 9-2. Penalties hurt CdM yet again, as the Hawks continued to close the gap, but the efforts of the CdM keepers continued to keep the attack at bay. Both keepers Alex Musselman and Margot Money managed to block penalties, and a lob shot from Pipa Sanders helped in salvaging the quarter.

The fourth quarter picked up where the second quarter let off; the CdM team once again used their speed and quickness to their advantage, and scored multiple times on fast breaks and quick passing around the pool. After their mediocre third period, the defense took the pressure off of the keepers and allowed only one goal in the fourth quarter. By the time the buzzer sounded, the score was 13-3, and the Sea Queens had once again proved their dominance in the pool.

The Sea Queens have taken on yet another opponent, and has sent a strong message to the upcoming Rosary. As one viewer put it, it was, “A quick and decisive game.”

After getting shutout the night before on the varsity level, the CdM Jv team of 24 players traveled to Laguna Hills to get revenge. When the kings left CdM, it was about 75 degrees, the ideal temperature to play in for any sport. But, when the kings arrived at Laguna Hills high school, it was a scorching 88 degrees. The game began with a kickoff return for CdM, after captains Preston Risser and Mitch Gardner won the toss.

The Kings opened up with a long drive, with big plays from Erik Fisher. Fisher took the ball overtime from the 25 yard line all the way down to the 5 yard line, where the kings were stopped, due to a bad snap. The defense, however, would shutdown the Laguna Hills offense for two quarters. The defense allowed only a few first downs, and stuffed the inside run, forcing Laguna Hills to try and throw the ball. Defensive backs Fraiser Anderson and Kyle Sherburne both provided lockdown protection on the wide receivers, while Aaron Vasquez, Andre Busto, and Braden Granard provided pressure on the quarterback.

CdM scored in their third possession, late in the first quarter. On the ten yard line, quarterback Mitch Gardner handed the ball off to running back Erik Fisher, who bounced it outside and past the secondary protection for a Sea Kings touchdown.

The Hawks made their score late in the third quarter, with a pass for 15 yards into the back of the end zone. The Laguna Hills had good field position against the Sea Kings, which allowed them to drive into the end zone with a quick couple of plays. Despite the score, the defense remained at the top of their game, shutting down the Hawks for the rest of the game. The offense had big mistakes to which the Hawks defense capitalized on. Snaps were off and blitzes by the defense caused sacks and rushed the quarterback.

Players of the game for CdM were Frasier Anderson and Josh Giger. CdM enters their second league game against Irvine on Friday with a 5-0-1 record. The game is on Friday, at Irvine. Go Sea Kings!