Men’s water polo made a splash at Miramar, beating the Jets 18-14 in their second meeting.
They traveled to Miramar College’s Ned-Baumer Aquatic Center to take on the Jets for the second time this season on Oct. 16. In this important conference match, the Mesa Olympians defeated the Jets, bringing their overall record to 3-6 with a 2-1 conference record.
Driver Santiago Gonzalez led Mesa with eight goals. Center Max Carrizales led Miramar with five goals. Rounding out the top three scorers was Mesa’s Barret Satre at driver with four goals.
Mesa struck first then quieted down, ending the first quarter at 2-2. Mesa then immediately came alive and scored four in the second making it five unanswered, eventually ending the quarter at 9-4. Miramar outscored Mesa 10-9 in the second half, but Mesa’s first half points denied Miramar the comeback, ending the game 18-14.
This match was a lot closer than the first time the two teams met when the Olympians outscored the Jets 21-9. Regardless of the closer score, Olympians head coach Scott Mccollum feels that Mesa is improving impressively week by week.
One area that Mccollum was particularly impressed with this week, was the players ability to execute six on five scenarios. Scenarios in which a player is excluded from the match for 20 seconds, allowing one team a great advantage.
Not only did the team score on all of their six on five advantages, they also only allowed one of seven goals during the opponent’s advantages. Safe to say the team’s work on this scenario worked out.
“It definitely paid off today,” said Mccollum.
One thing that allows Mesa and Miramar to compete at an even level is that both teams have relatively small roster sizes. The opportunity for substitutions for all players is unlikely and this creates strain on the whole roster.
When talking about this issue Mccollum said, “that’s the only team we’ve played like that” adding that most other teams are “six guys in, six guys out.” The low sub count along with a good portion of Mesa’s roster coming with low experience forces some players to do what are called iron mans, a game in which you are never substituted.
One of these experienced players is Barret Satre, a 6-foot-7 freshman driver who is quickly making a name for himself in the pool. Barret shot 4 for 6 this game and earned himself five assists, one steal, and one block along the way.
When asked about what he’s doing differently to set himself apart, Satre directed the question towards the team stating that “It’s not about individual players… just coming together and teaching the new guys how to get it done.. working together to play a team sport really.”
Sartre doesn’t know where he wants to finish in the world of water polo but his goal right now is to attend a D1 program stating “It would be a dream of mine.”
He’s been playing since he was a little kid giving him a deep rooted love for the game, when asked about his end goal he responded with “It’s not really about where I end up… I just love the sport.”
After the match, men’s water polo players looked forward in preparation for their next tournament. Mccollum said “Anyone that wants to come and support, it would be greatly appreciated.”
The team has one more home game against Palomar College on Oct. 30 at 5 p.m. A link to the team’s full schedule and results page is provided here.
