–Photo by Aaron Valdez / Beacon Media News
By Aaron Valdez
If one were to review Arcadia girls’ water polo’s season performance without including the last week and a half, it’d be safe to assume the team wouldn’t make too much noise in league finals and beyond.
By the end of their last regular-season game, the Apaches were just 12-14 and on a three-game losing skid. However, it’s a much different story now as Arcadia handily won the Pacific League crown and most recently routed Mayfair 17-0 in the first round of CIF on Tuesday.
“We are peaking right now,” said Head Coach Janice Clark. “I think we’ve just hit that point where the team is gelling together, they’re in each other heads, our defense is super strong, mistakes that we were making earlier in the season we are not making anymore and our team chemistry is the big factor … It’s just been really exciting to see that improvement.”
Kelsey Lam put together a stellar performance by leading the Apaches with five goals while Audrey Abbott and Cary Gomez each contributed with three goals each. Not to be outdone, goalie Jacqueline Collier also had herself a monster game as she thwarted any Mayfair attempt that came her way, picking up 17 saves in the process.
Arcadia will hit the road to take on Western (16-9) in the second round of CIF-SS Division 6 playoffs on Thursday.
