The Stratford Boys Water Polo season is already off and running.

vs. Bridgeland

The boys formally opened their Fall 2023 season on Tuesday, August 8 with a non-District matchup against Bridgeland whom the boys dispatched in last year’s playoffs. The mighty Spartans picked right back up where they left Bridgeland at last year working their way to a fairly easy 12–3 victory. Andy Zhuri led the way defensively with an outstanding effort in goal. Luke Barber led the way on offense with 6 goals, while Austin Chow chipped in a couple of goals, and Marin Pavlin, Lucas Storey, Josh Rebollar, and Brock Hunter each chipped in a goal apiece. There was also some great defensive effort turned in by the entire team.

The Spartans then moved on to their opening tournament of the season hosted by Cy Fair ISD August 10-12.

vs. Jersey Village

The Spartans matched up in their first game against another past rival in Jersey Village. This match would prove to be a defensive struggle with the Spartans outstanding goalie Andy Zhuri showing off his shot-stopping skills and some very aggressive defense to stymie Jersey Village. The first quarter had the most offense and would see the Spartans jump out to a 3-2 lead that they would not relinquish the rest of the way. Austin Chow found the back of the net twice and Luke Barber chipped in the other goal.

The second period was a defensive battle as neither team could get a ball in the goal, and so Stratford carried their 3-2 lead into halftime.

The third quarter would see more defense on display, but Devon Beals did manage to score his first goal of the season to extend the Spartan lead to 4-2.

In the final period, Luke Barber and Austin Chow would each score another goal to give the Spartans a 6-3 victory.

The overall team defensive effort in support of Andy was outstanding with Lucas Storey, Luke Barber, and Devon Beals leading the way. On the offensive side, Julian Hemmer contributed 2 assists, and Lucas Storey and Andy Zhuri each had one as well. Overall it was a very satisfying victory.

vs. Conroe

The second game would see the Spartans match up and overwhelm the boys from Conroe High School. The Spartans jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back in route to a 16-1 victory. Coach was able to get everyone on the roster plenty of playing time and all the boys looked good and contributed. Luke Barber led the scoring with 5 goals, while Elliot Easton, Sam Brooks, Ricky Conticello, and Julian Hemmer each scored two goals apiece. The remaining goals were scored by Lucas Storey, Marin Pavlin, and Brock Hunter.

vs. College Park

The boys third game of the opening day of the tournament would see them square off against the men of College Park. This game would be similar to the Jersey Village game and the defense of both squads would be on full display. Andy Zhuri would again show why he is one of the top goalies in the greater Houston area with outstanding play in goal. The teams would trade goals, with Luke Barber putting the Spartans on the board.

The second quarter would see very little offense as well as College Park managed to sneak the lone goal into the net to give College Park a 2-1 lead at halftime.

The third quarter would be a back-and-forth affair as the Spartans tied it on Luke’s second goal of the game, only to see College Park retake the lead. However the Spartans would answer again in the period as Lucas Storey fit a nice goal into the upper right corner of the net to tie the game back up. The Spartans would score again late in the period as Luke Barber found the net again, and the Spartans took a 4-3 lead into the final period.

The Spartans then put their gritty defense on full display as they shut down College Park for the entire period to hold on for a hard-fought 4-3 victory and move to 4-0 on the young season.

vs. Hebron

Saturday would see the Spartans open against the boys from Hebron, who traveled down from North Texas for this tournament. This would be another hard fought battle with both teams showing off some pretty stout defense. The Spartans would get on the board in less than a minute and half when Luke Barber rifled a shot into the back of the net, but Hebron would then answer with goals of their own to take a 3-1 lead at the end of the first period.

The Spartans would correct their 1st quarter defensive mistakes to shut out Hebron in the second quarter. Meanwhile Luke Barber would get the offense going with three strong goals, and he also assisted Austin Chow on his goal in the period as the Spartans took a 5-3 lead into halftime.

The third quarter would see Hebron show their own mettle as they came out working hard and making adjustments. They were able to get a couple of counters and score at point-blank range and to get another goal out of their set offense in the period. Meanwhile, the only offense the Spartans could muster was a lone Luke Barber goal that enabled the Spartans to close the period in a 6-6 tie.

Unfortunately the 4th quarter would see the Spartans sputter a little on defense and give up a couple of more counter goals as Hebron provided all the scoring in the period and got out of the pool with a hard-fought 9-6 victory over your mighty Spartans.

vs. Memorial

The final game of the tournament would see the Spartans square off against our red rivals in the third place game. The Spartans and Mustangs have had some very hard-fought games over the past few years, and this would be no exception. Stratford jumped out to a 1-0 lead one minute into the quarter when Luke Barber rifled one home and then both teams settled in for a defensive battle the rest of the quarter.

The second quarter would see the Stratford defense continue to dominate and would see Luke Barber put 2 more goals on the board. Andy Zhuri would end up with 10 saves in the half and Stratford would enjoy a 3-1 lead.

The third quarter would see both offenses start to get on track with a total of 6 goals being scored. Memorial scored first to cut the lead to 3-2, but Stratford quickly answered with a Ricky Conticello goal to go back up by 2. The Mustangs would not quit and quickly answered with their own goal to cut the lead back to 4-3. Stratford would again provide their own answer to extend the lead back to two but the Mustangs would not go away and closed out the quarter with 2 more goals to end the quarter tied at 5.

Fortunately the Spartans proved their metal and reminded their neighbors from the east who the team to beat in Spring Branch is by providing all of the scoring in the final period and cruising to a 9-5 victory. Luke Barber ended up with 6 goals, and Ricky Conticello, Austin Chow, and Josh Rebollar each found the net once as well. Andy Zhuri would finish with 13 saves to anchor the defensive effort.

Overall the third place finish against some very good competition was a great showing for the mighty Spartans and a much better start to the year than last year.

Next weekend the boys will be in another tournament that will see them match up against the reigning State Champions from Brazoswood and will really provide a good test for the lads.