Mustangs’ water polo comeback falls short against Salinas
It was a clash of different water polo styles in the Gilroy
Mustangs’ 12-7 loss to the Salinas Cowboys Tuesday afternoon in
Gilroy.
Mustangs’ water polo comeback falls short against Salinas
It was a clash of different water polo styles in the Gilroy Mustangs’ 12-7 loss to the Salinas Cowboys Tuesday afternoon in Gilroy.
Mustangs head coach Mark Rose believes in working the ball around the perimeter before dumping it in to his hole-set, Danielle Dow. The accurate passing of his outside players coupled with Dow’s ability to create easy shots for herself and her teammates makes Rose’s decision on a game plan easy.
Dow pumped in six goals on Tuesday and led the Mustangs’ fourth-quarter attempt at a comeback.
With the Cowboys leading 11-4 late in the game, Dow scored two quick goals to bring the Mustangs within four. Salinas seemed to be reeling so Cowboy Coach Gary Figueroa called a timeout.
Figueroa’s philosophy is to pressure the ball and force turnovers on defense in order to spark the offensive fast break. The Cowboys are armed with swimmers that can quickly get in their lanes and stream up the length of the pool.
“Water polo is a game of ball movement, catching and passing crisply,” said Figueroa, whose team improved to 13-6 overall and 5-2 in the Tri County League standings. “We needed to respond quicker instead of being so sluggish.”
The Cowboys’ leading scorer Katlen Long responded to her coach’s pleas during the timeout. After a shot off the crossbar by the Mustangs’ Lauren Rossi, Long swam up the center of the pool just as her goalie Miranda Buttersby retrieved the ball.
A swift outlet pass to the wing by Buttersby was followed by a long pass that arched the ball over the heads of the Gilroy defenders and plopped just in front of Long.
Long paddled toward the goal, stopped just in front, pump-faked and put it in for a 12-6 lead with a minute left to cement the game. Long finished with seven goals while Buttersby recorded five saves.
The Mustangs responded with another Dow goal with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter but time was not on the Mustangs’ side.
“We came out flat in the first quarter,” said Rose. “We didn’t take advantage of the sun being at our backs. We picked it up in the second quarter.”
The Mustangs’ league record falls to 2-3.
