Leah Gonzales scored a pair of goals and Makenzy Fowler scored once and drew six ejections, but the young fifth-ranked Santa Barbara girls water polo team was edged by seventh-ranked Corona del Mar 6-5 on Saturday.
“I thought we played okay, but we left a lot out there. We went 3-for-9 in 6-on-5 situations. We weren’t very good on man-ups this weekend. We’ve been battling some illnesses and injuries and haven’t really had a full practice yet,” said coach Mark Walsh.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Dons (1-1), who face top-ranked Dos Pueblos at the Elings Aquatic Center on Tuesday.
“We’ve played two very good teams, and obviously DP is the benchmark for everybody this year. I don’t know if it would help even if I had a full year to prepare for them,” said Walsh. “But we’re gonna go out there and play and see where we’re at.”
Charlotte Hendrix had a goal, three steals and two ejections drawn against the Sea Queens, and Kelsey O’Brien had three steals with two assists as well as a goal.
CORONA DEL MAR 6, SANTA BARBARA 5
Santa Barbara…0 2 1 2 — 5
CDM…2 2 1 1 — 6
Goals — SB: Gonzales 2, Hendrix 1, Fowler 1, O’Brien 1. CDM: n/a.
Goalie saves —Trabucco 7 saves.
Dons are going to crush DP
Dons are going to crush DP