VARSITY

vs. Clear Creek

On Tuesday September 10th, Stratford Varsity Boys Water Polo hosted the third-ranked team in the State, Clear Creek. The Wildcats came into the game with a record of 17-0-1. This game was the last game before District play starts and against one of the best teams who will for sure be fighting for the State title. Clear Creek quickly showed its dominance early with an easy 7-2 lead after one and 15-3 lead at half. Coach McCommons threw in the white towel early in the third with Varsity giving way to the JV. Clear Creek showed no mercy with only three subs and finished off Stratford 30-4. Finally, District is here.

vs. George Ranch

On Friday the 13th, Stratford Boys Varsity started off with District play at home against George Ranch. This happened to also be Senior Night, and the Seniors did not disappoint! With a nice ceremony to honor the Seniors before the game, Stratford was able to handle the Longhorns early with a 10-2 lead at the half. Stratford cruised to a 16-4 first District win. All the Seniors contributed to this win, culminating with all 6 Seniors playing together for the first time this season. Senior Nathan Moss had 4 goals, 1 assist, and 2 steals. Senior Devon Beals had 3 goals, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Senior Julian Hemmer had 2 goals and 2 assists. Senior Marin Pavlin had 1 goal, 1 assist, and 3 steals. Senior Charlie Goodman had 1 goal and 1 steal. Senior Ricky Conticello had 2 steals. Junior Delsyn Brisbin added 3 goals. Special shoutout to Herring who stepped in to play goalie for the game and had 10 saves, 1 steal, and 1 assist.

JUNIOR VARSITY

vs. Clear Creek

Before the Varsity game, our JV Spartans (in only their second contest of the season) fought hard but ultimately couldn't match the gameplay of the talented Wildcats. The Spartans kept it close in the first half, only down 3-1 at the break. The 3rd quarter proved decisive, however, as the Wildcats netted 5 shots and blanked the Spartans to build an 8-1 lead going into the 4th. The two teams traded goals in the 4th, and the final score on the night was an 11-3 loss for the Spartans. One of the few bright spots for the Spartans was Junior Charlie Moore, who scored all 3 goals for the team, including a buzzer-beater to end the 1st. New goalie, Brady Herring, fared well in net and came up with some impressive blocked shots. This game did offer a chance for several of the underclassmen to obtain extended playing time, including first-year players Freshman Walter Coffey, and Sophomores Bihn Mai, Matthew Huntsman, and Koki Yamamoto.

vs. George Ranch

On Saturday the 14th, the JV Boys took to the pool again to face Strake Jesuit's top-tier JV team. It was a hard-fought back-and-forth battle all game long. Down 1-0 after a quick goal by the Crusaders, Stratford scored 5 of the next 6 to take a 5-2 lead early in the 2nd quarter. Sophomore Luke Ickes led the way with 2 of the early goals, with sophomores Matthew Huntsman, Saleem Hassoun, and Wade Hicks each netting one. The opposition came storming back later in the 2nd with 6 of the next 7 goals to take the lead at 8-6. It would be their last lead of the match, and a short-lived one, as the Spartans book-ended the half with a 4-0 run of their own, including two 5-meter penalty shots, one each by Hassoun and Ickes. Ickes capped off the run with his 4th of 5 goals on the day. The two JV squads traded goals for the remainder of the 3rd period and into the 4th, with Hicks scoring 4 straight of his team-leading 6 total goals to put the Spartans up 14-11. Several Stratford players helped maintain the Spartans' narrow lead throughout the 2nd half -- Gavin Rump had 5 of his team-leading 7 steals, Charlie Moore had two steals and an assist, Max Bednar had a steal and an assist, Charlie Amis and Carter Phillips came up with a key 4th quarter assist and steal, respectively, and Koki Yamamoto added a late insurance goal in the 4th to finish off the scoring. Herring had an excellent game in goal, blocking a whopping 15 shot attempts along with a steal. The final score of the contest was a well-deserved 16-13 victory.