Following its winning formula to perfection, the San Benito girls water polo team earned its second-consecutive victory Wednesday with a dominant 14-6 victory over Aptos.
It was an easy victory because of three components: Senior Caitlin Schafer, senior Rachel Estep and the strong goaltending of sophomore Meghan Parsons, who finished with seven saves. The two seniors – the only returning starters from last year’s squad – showed their experience in the San Benito pool Wednesday, controlling the offensive and defensive play of the game.
Plus they contributed points, and lots of them. Last year’s league MVP Schafer scored a season-high 10 goals and Estep finished with eight steals and a goal to propel San Benito. Erin Hepner also contributed two goals in the victory.
“We had a good game,” SBHS head coach Hayley Vandercook said. “But the caliber wasn’t the same as the other two games we’ve played so I expected to come out there and dominate like we did. It as a good win to keep it going.”
The victory improves the Balers record to 2-2 inside the Gabilan Division of the Monterey Bay League.
San Benito started the game quickly in the first quarter, stealing the ball from Aptos on its first possession.
“We’ve improved as the season has gone on,” Schafer said of the team’s defense. “Everyone is doing so much better. The defense was just amazing and it allowed me and Rachel to go and sprint and counter. It wasn’t just a one-or-two person game, everyone was driving and everyone was passing. I think that’s what allowed us to get ahead – we were playing more as a team.”
Three minutes into the game Schafer scored her first of three first-quarter goals to give San Benito the lead. Thanks to the strong defensive showing, the Balers would never trail in the game. The Balers extended their lead to 4-1 after the first quarter and led 7-2 at halftime.
“From game one, we realized that we really needed to start stressing defense,” Schafer said. “So as the week has been going on, we’ve been teaching them to get in the lanes and not fouling and pressing.”
Wednesday, that worked perfectly. Any time Aptos threatened, the Balers pressed and forced turnovers. When Aptos had a chance to score, Parsons made a timely save, including a pair of one-on-one Aptos opportunities.
“I thought I played better than usual,” Parson said. “Thanks to Caitlin and Rachel, they’ve helped me a lot in becoming a better goalie. I thought I was a better goalie. I had a lot of fun out there.”
And the strong defense only made her better, she said.
“Strong defense is everything,” she said. “Having a strong defense obviously means there is less people shooting on me and less one-on-nobodies.”
San Benito continued its defensive assault in the second half, running away with the game over the final two quarters.
“Winning this game by the amount we did was amazing,” Estep said. “I’m just really happy how this played out. We are getting so much stronger as a team and I really think that when we play Soquel and SLV next time that they will have underestimated us.”
She continued: “We started out as a a very new team and now that we are learning to play the game together we are just going to keep getting better.”
The Balers travel to Santa Catalina School on Friday. The game is expected to start at 4 p.m.
SBHS Boys Water Polo
The boys water polo team won its first game of league play Wednesday, defeating Aptos 7-2 on the road. The victory improves the Balers record to 1-3.
San Benito won’t return to the pool until Thursday at 4 p.m. The Balers will host league opponent Carmel.
