Lady Jags beat Ramona, fall to Torrey Pines in water polo

Danielle Moran (in goal) goes after a high shot against Ramona.

Valley Center’s varsity girls water polo team split a pair of games this week, as the Lady Jaguars came back from an early deficit to double up Ramona to start the week, but suffered a tough loss against Torrey Pines to close out the week’s action.
The Lady Jags played Ramona at home on Wednesday, and after a slow start, came back to beat the Lady Bulldogs 10–5.
Shooting in the deep end, the Lady Jags scored two goals but allowed two for Ramona. Shooting shallow in the second quarter, the Lady Jags were able to outscore the Lady Bulldogs 2–1 to take a slim 4–3 lead at half.
The Lady Jags settled in and put together a solid quarter shooting deep again, scoring four goals while holding the Lady Bulldogs scoreless, to take an 8–3 lead going into the fourth. Both teams scored two in the fourth, giving Valley Center the big win.
“The girls had a slow start in the first half, but were able to play well in the third quarter to take control of the game,” head coach Kyle Kline said. “We missed several opportunities and allowed some shots against us, but we made some corrections and finished well.”
Maddy Daugherty had four goals, two assists, four steals, one block, and earned one exclusion. Dani Lettice had two goals, two assists. Carina Favela had two goals, one assist and earned two exclusions. Nikki Paredes had two goals, two assists, two steals, and earned one exclusion. Danielle Moran played well in the goal with five goal saves.
On Friday, the Lady Jaguars took on Torrey Pines at UCSD and couldn’t keep up in a 9–1 loss.
Torrey Pines took an early 3–0 lead in the first quarter. The Lady Jags were able to put away one goal in the second, but allowed three more goals for Torrey Pines. The Lady Jags allowed three more goals in the second half to give Torrey Pines the big win.
“The girls played hard against a solid Torrey Pines team,” Kline said. “I’m happy with the driving we did to earn eight exclusions. Defensively, the girls had some good shot blocks and Danielle Moran played very well in the goal for us filling in for an injured Melissa Persichetti.”
Daugherty had one goal and earned three exclusions. Nicole Marler had one steal and earned three exclusions. Makayla Markey had three steals and earned one exclusion. Paredes had one assist. Moran had eight goal saves.
Valley Center is now 7–7 overall and will have begun league play against Orange Glen at Washington Park on Tuesday. Next up, the Lady Jags take on San Dieguito at Adams Park on Thursday at 4 p.m.