Water Polo Splits Two at St. Francis Fall Invite
ATHERTON, Calif. – The St. Francis water polo team posted a shutout over Palo Alto Friday afternoon to advance to Saturday’s action and chance to play for the top spot in the consolation bracket.
“I was really happy with how we approached our defensive attack,” said Head Coach Heather Moody. “We are doing a really good job pressing, fouling with a purpose and knowing what is next.”
Sophomore Kendall Houck scored a pair of goals in both games on Friday, while classmate Caroline Wilkins added two goals in the opener versus Clovis West and senior Kobe Carpenter scored in both games.
“Offensively we are getting lots of opportunities,” said Moody. “It is just finishing those chances.”
St. Francis (1-1) fought Clovis West in the opener at the Dunlevie Aquatic Center on the campus of Sacred Heart Prep. Wilkins opened the game with a score and added a second goal to tie the game at 2. The Troubies trailed 4-3 at the break but were out-scored in the second half 5-2.
SF rebounded against Palo Alto, posting a 5-0 shutout in the second game. Carpenter and Houck scored in the first quarter to build a 2-0 lead. Houck scored her fourth goal of the day to push the lead to 3-0 and Hayley Hoang and Libby Slater added goals.
“The goalies really stopped up and had some good stops,” said Moody. “We got excluded a lot in the third and fourth quarter and we had some really good field saves and our goalies stepped up.”
Senior Ari Miggins and junior Kate Watley combined for the shutout with 17 saves.
St. Francis plays again on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Clovis West 9, St. Francis 5
CW – Snyder 4, Cotton 3, Clague 1, Samansky. SF – Wilkins 2, Houck 2, Carpenter.
St. Francis 5, Palo Alto 0
SF – Houck 2, Carpenter, Slater, Hoang.