HRV’s girls water polo wins third title

“We were definitely feeling confident, but we definitely weren’t underestimating our opponent. West Albany had won the state championship last year and we lost to them in the finals,” Dunn said. “So, we really did want to go in and make a big statement against them. It was a good chance for us to kind of avenge that loss from last year and we really wanted it.”

In the first quarter both teams had strong defense which prevented a lot of goals from being scored, Dunn said. The Eagles, however, did manage to put one past the Bulldogs’ goalkeeper.

The Eagles would pick up steam in the second quarter adding two points and conceding one goal.

“I think we slowly gained some momentum in the second quarter. By halftime the score was 3-1 and so we had a two-goal lead,” Dunn said. “It was a lot of really good defense on both sides, but we did feel like we were starting to gain an edge over them.”

At the start of the third quarter is when HRV began to pick up steam. The Eagles’ athletic and agile abilities began to chip away at the Bulldog defense, Dunn said.

With the West Albany defense failing due to fatigue the Eagles took advantage with counter attacks and started racking up goals.

Players who scored included senior Faith Ocheskey with four goals, sophomore Madaket Greenleaf with three, junior Olivia Sumerfield with one and senior Kate Guadagnuolo with one.

“This season has been a phenomenal year with some really amazing kids,” Dunn said. “I am so proud of all the hard work they’ve put in to get to state championship and I cannot believe how much heart they put into our tournament this weekend. When you play with that much heart the results seem to come naturally.”

The champions will have a parade this weekend. See hoodrivernews.com for updates.