On October 30, the Delta College women’s water polo team won their final conference game against Fresno City College Rams 14-4 Delta and 20-9 overall in wins this season.
“This was a good win. It’s our last conference game, so we already knew where we stand coming into this game. So it was a good opportunity to try some new stuff and get another game in before the tournament,” said Head Coach Nathan Varosh.
The final conference game started off with a hit. Immediately, the Mustangs scored their first point, assisted by freshman utility Ava Sepulveda and freshman goalie Kylie Richardson.
This was followed by attempts made by the Rams to land on the scoreboard. Still, by the end of the quarter, the Mustangs scored two more goals in the first quarter, including their sophomore attacker Esmeralda De La Torre and Ally Ratto, ending the quarter at 3-0 Delta.
“It was a big help with my teammates just looking around the pool… I like being under that type of pressure; it’s more of a challenge. I’m always up for a challenge,” said De La Torre.
The Rams started off the second quarter against the Mustangs, scoring three points each from Sade Walls, Taryn Ledbetter, and Mia Coleman.
However, the Mustangs prevailed, and De La Torre made sure to end the quarter with two assisted goals, ending the quarter at 5-3 Delta.
At the start of the third quarter, excitement was in the air as the Rams scored their fourth and final point, making the Mustangs alert and ready to score.
However, goalie Richardson was shortly ejected after a few blocked attempts to score, leaving the goal wide open for the Rams.
“When a goalie normally gets kicked out, everyone returns to the cage. But someone else got kicked out, too, so we were playing four-on-six without a goalie. So three of us went into the cage, and I was just attacking at the top, and if anyone had the ball, I was going after them to try to pressure them,” said Ratto.
Luckily, Ratto said the Mustangs prepared for a situation like this during their practices, making sure they got the field blocks and working as a team to create a wall so the other team wouldn’t score. Delta ended the third quarter 10-4
By the last quarter, it was a sure win for the Mustangs as they practiced some new techniques before ending the game 14-4 and on their way to the Big 8 championships. The Mustangs will play Diablo Valley College in Santa Rosa, CA, in a conference tournament that runs November 8-9.
