Men’s Water Polo Loses Second Game of Tournament
Fouls and ejections resulted in the second loss of the day for the men’s water polo team.
On Friday, Oct. 21, the Santa Monica College (SMC) Corsairs men’s water polo team played their second match of the day against the San Diego Mesa College Olympians. Though the Corsairs seemed to keep pace with the Olympians for most of the game, even outperforming them in the fourth quarter, it ultimately wasn’t enough for the win and the Corsairs lost 19-16.
San Diego got the first point of the game just under a minute in, and SMC utility Carlos Ramirez tied it, assisted by driver Mikhai Davis, about 30 seconds later. San Diego was able to score again and maintain the lead, while Ramirez would go on to assist fellow utility Dylan Hughes and score once more in the quarter. All three at some point were ejected from the quarter, along with Driver Kristian Miranda and Utility James Cavanaugh. The quarter would end at 5-3, San Diego leading.
Ramirez and Davis would each get a goal in the second quarter, Ramirez unassisted and Davis assisted by Utility Zaliyah Quant. San Diego strengthened their lead adding five more points in the quarter as SMC fouled frequently against the Olympians. The Olympians continued strong into the third quarter, adding seven more points while SMC gained some ground and got five points, two each from Miranda and Ramirez and one from Utility Leo Farias, but three ejections, closing out the third quarter at 17-10.
SMC displayed a strong defensive performance in the fourth quarter as they were able to hold San Diego to just two points in the quarter. Davis shined in the quarter with three goals, and Ramirez, Quant, and Utility Jackson Wheeler would each get a goal of their own. Hughes would receive one more ejection in the game, totaling nine total ejections for SMC. The solid performance would unfortunately not be enough and the Corsairs would lose, making them 8-14 on the season and 0-5 at home.
The Corsairs next games will span over two days as it’s the Dia de Los Muertos Tournament at Southwestern College. Two games will be played on Friday, Oct. 28, the first will be against Cypress College at 11:20 a.m., and the second at 2:50 p.m. against Fullerton College. The following day they’ll play San Diego Miramar College at 9 a.m. and Grossmont College at 1:40 p.m.