On October 21, the varsity water polo team defeated Carlmont HS’s Scots in their home pool for the second time this season. 

Carlmont began the game with possession, but NDB’s quick defense was able to gain control soon after, and senior Nicolette Bolich scored the Tiger’s first of eight goals within the first two minutes of the quarter. Thirty seconds later, senior Hannah Kawar scored the second goal, and then had her first of two ejections three minutes into the game. In the goal, senior Annalee Wolfe’s quick defense caused her to block the Scot goal and get the ball back the tigers. With a minute and a half left in the quarter, senior Callie Malone scored NDB’s third goal. In the last thirty seconds of the game, the Scots were able to make their first goal scored by Ilyana Zlobinski. The Tigers finished the quarter ahead, with three total goals against Scot’s one.

The second quarter was not as smooth for the Tigers as they had Kawar’s second ejection two minutes and twenty seconds into the game. Carlmont called a timeout, then proceeded to score two goals, scored by Zlobinsky and Day. Both teams were tied at the half, cranking up the pressure for the second half. 

“There was a little bit of tension in the pool, and I think that just got to our heads and our mentality, but ultimately we were able to pull through” Kawar said.

With stakes high, both teams were ready to put up a good fight for the win, making the third quarter highly eventful. Less than thirty seconds into the quarter, Kawar scored her second goal, bringing the Tigers back into the lead. One minute later, senior Danya Rau had her first personal foul. Two and a half minutes into the quarter, Kawar scored another goal for the tigers. Zlobinsky then drew Carlmont’s first foul. Wolfe was able to catch multiple of Carlmont’s attempted goals, contributing to NDB’s strong and hardworking defense. In total, Wolfe blocked fourteen of Carlmont’s goal attempts throughout the game. Four minutes into the quarter, Malone scored her second goal before senior Avery McGlinchey was ejected. This did not set the Tigers back as Kawar scored yet another goal. Wolfe continued to block the Scot’s attempts to score, but with only five seconds left on the clock, Zlobinsky scored her third Scot goal, but this was not enough to put the Scots into a competitive position against NDB’s fast-acting defense. At the end of the quarter, NDB was ahead seven to four.

The fourth quarter quickly started with Zlobinsky scoring Carlmont’s fifth and final goal less than twenty seconds into the final quarter. Twelve seconds later, Kawar scored her fifth goal for the Tigers, giving them a three-point lead ahead of the Scots. Wolfe along with the rest of her team was able to block all of Carlmont’s offensive attempts for the rest of the game. The game ended 8 to 5 with NDB taking home another win against Carlmont.

After the game, the Catalyst was able to talk with players from each team on the strengths and weaknesses of their team in the game. 

“I felt that our team did really well on our defense, we were able to shut down their plays really quickly and they barely had any offensive advantage,” Kawar said, who scored a total of five goals in the game.

“I think that some of the strengths that we showed was our perseverance because the playing was a little ‘dirty,’” Carlmont HS junior Emily Livesay said. “And, we did stand our ground, and I thought that defensively we were very strong today, and I thought we did a really good job on that.”

Varsity water polo has advanced onto CCS and will continue to show quick defense, strong offensive skills, and teamwork in the following weeks.