Santa Barbara High goalie Maddie Trabucco stuffs a point-blank shot attempt by Dos Pueblos’ Shannon Cleary in Tuesday’s Channel League clash. (Presidio Sports Photo)
Santa Barbara High’s girls water polo team defeated its primary threat to a Channel League championship on Tuesday, topping Dos Pueblos 13-5 in the Dons’ pool.
It was the first matchup of the season between the Dons, ranked No. 1 in Division 1, and the Chargers, ranked No. 7.
“It was huge for us,” said Dons goalie Maddie Trabucco of the win. “We came out and we knew DP was a really good team so Walsh really prepped us. I think we all kind of came together as a team.”
It’s the ninth win in a row for Santa Barbara, which improves to 4-0 in Channel League competition and 15-4 overall. Dos Pueblos suffered its first league loss and now stands at 2-1.
The Chargers trailed 3-2 after the first period and 6-3 at halftime.
“They did a good job of holding court,” said Chargers head coach Chris Parrish. “They played a great game. Even when it was 6-3 it wasn’t really a question.”
The second half was more one-sided as Santa Barbara took an 11-3 lead late in the third quarter.
“I think we totally wanted to dominate, show that we are the better team in this situation,” Trabucco said.
The Dons defense held Jamie Neushul to a season-low two goals. Jordan Williams also scored twice for DP and Ari St. Oegger added one goal and three drawn ejections.
Santa Barbara was led in scoring by Kelsey O’Brien’s three goals.
