After patiently waiting and watching as the boys handled their business, the Clovis West Golden Eagles girls water polo team went to work all their own with a 10-7 home victory over the Clovis East Timberwolves Wednesday night.
The Golden Eagles showcased exactly why they have a 12-3 overall record on the season, dominating the first half both offensively and defensively.
West poured in three goals in the first period, including ones from Sydney Gish, Jillian Duwe and the freshman offensive talent Julianne Snyder.
Clovis East just missed getting on the scoreboard with 1:03 left in the period, but Kacy Wicks missed a 5-meter shot wide right to keep the Timberwolves scoreless heading into the second period.
Snyder, who ended the match with a team-leading four goals, put home another in the second period with 4:50 left and her teammate Ashlyn Brosi also got into the act to give the Golden Eagles a commanding lead of 5-0 at halftime.
East would not go down quietly, as one might have thought would happen after being shut out in the first half.
The Timberwolves drew first blood in the second half with a goal by Kena Waters with 5:06 left in the period. Maddie Bower and Wicks put home two more followed by a goal from Emma Vertiz.
East had finally shown what it was capable of offensively. Unfortunately for the Timberwolves, the defense couldn’t match its execution.
Snyder fired home two more goals in the third, helping give the Golden Eagles an 8-4 lead heading into the final period.
Clovis East continued what it started in the third period offensively, but it was too little, too late for the Timberwolves to climb the proverbial mountain and completely back into the game.
Attacker Teressa Stover found the back of the net twice in the fourth and her teammate Sydney Hogan took advantage of a breakaway off of a long outlet pass from the goalkeeper with a goal with 1:20 left in the game.
West countered with a second goal from Duwe and the first from Carolin Radke, and that would be all the team needed to secure the victory.
West head coach Matt Brooks attributed East’s second half offensive success to some positional adjustments made by the Timberwolves coaching staff.
“They moved some of their girls around to a different side of the pool and they were more effective from that side of the pool,” Brooks said.
The Golden Eagles with the victory remain undefeated in TRAC play at 3-0 and an overall record of 12-3. Next up will be the 6-1 Buchanan Bears on the road Oct. 2 in a matchup that could prove to be pivotal in deciding who has the best in-conference record at the end of the season.