A lengthy Senior Day ceremony before Wednesday’s game had the top-ranked Dos Pueblos girls water polo team feeling a little bit emotional.
It was all business once the whistle blew, however, as the Chargers breezed past visiting Fountain Valley 15-3 in the first round of the CIF Division I playoffs. Pre-playoff coin-flips have assured that the win would be DP’s last game of the year at Elings Aquatic Center.
Senior Alex Hill winds up on a penalty shot for one of her four goals.
“It’s kind of weird to think that it’s my last home game as a high school water polo player,” said Berkeley-bound Alex Hill, who scored four goals on the day and admitted she fought off tears during the pre-game ceremony.
Sophomore Kodi Hill also scored four times while the Charger defense smothered the Barons. That resulted in a light workload for DP goalie Sami Hill, who made three saves in three quarters before backup Chandler Vilander came in and tallied a pair, including a nice stop of a no-look shot from a Barons attacker.
Vilander will have big shoes to fill in the cage next year as Hill will head to UCLA.
“I think she’s gonna be really motivated, because her sister’s coming in and she’s a pretty good goalie too,” noted coach Danelle Little, who was happy to get every player in the game and was particularly impressed with JV call-up Tahnia Mark, who had a fourth-quarter goal.
Kiley Neushul scored a goal early in the second quarter which summed up DP’s dominance in the game. She rifled a fastball from close range that was blocked nicely by the Fountain Valley goalie. Seemingly annoyed with the stop, Neushul followed the shot, ripped the ball away for herself and buried it.
Tiera Schroeder finished with five assists for the Chargers, who are 28-0 but know not to take anything for granted. Both Los Alamitos and Newport Harbor lost to DP by just one goal during the season, and the Griffins and the Sailors are projected to cross DP’s path in the semifinals and finals, respectively.
“I think that really was an eye-opener for us, just to see that, you know, we’re beatable and we only beat them by one goal. It could have been anyone’s game,” said Alex Hill.
The Chargers will play at either Santa Margarita or Foothill on Friday in the quarterfinals.
DOS PUEBLOS 15, FOUNTAIN VALLEY 3
Fountain Valley…0 1 0 2 — 3
Dos Pueblos…4 5 3 3 — 15
Goals — FV: Fascella 1, Young 1, Van Houten 1. DP: Mark 1, Schroeder 2, KHill 4, AHill 4, KNeushul 2, Redfern 1, JNeushul 1.
