The Valley Center varsity boys water polo team kicked off the season at the Poway Invitational and also had a non-league game against San Pasqual this week, and despite a great effort, the Jaguars lost five and won only one.
The first game was September 9 against Grossmont. The Jags allowed Grossmont to take an early 5–0 lead in the first. Grossmont continued to control the game and took a 15–2 win.
Captain Ian Macfarlane had one goal, one assist, two steals, one block, and earned two exclusions. Jake Walder had one goal and two steals. Shea Swartz had three blocks in the first half and Tyler French had one block in the second half.
The second game of the tournament was against Monte Vista, and after a tie at halftime, Monte Vista pulled ahead and took a 14–12 win.
The Jags had more intensity after the tough loss and trailed Monte Vista 4–3 after the first quarter.
The Jaguars picked it up in the second quarter, scoring four and allowing three for a 7–7 tie at half.
Monte Vista was able to put away four goals in the third while the Jags could only score three to trail by one goal heading into the fourth. Monte Vista was again able to outscore the Jags with three goals allowing only two giving the Jags a tough loss.
“The boys played a much better game and battled for four quarters,” head coach Kyle Kline said. “We improved as a team in this game.”
Walder had a huge game with eight goals, and one block. Dylan Peters had three goals, and one block. Macfarlane had one goal, one steal, and earned one exclusion. Swarts had five blocks and two assists.
Valley Center’s third game was against Escondido, and since the Cougars did not have enough players, the game was a forfeit and the Jaguars’ only win of the week.
The fourth game of the tournament was Saturday against El Camino. The Jags had another slow start giving up a 5–1 lead in the first quarter. El Camino continued to control the game to take an 11–4 win.
Macfarlane had three goals, and one assist. First-year player Kevin Murphy had one goal. Swartz had a big game with ten goal saves.
The final game of the tournament was against Mira Mesa, and despite a good defensive effort, the Jags suffered a 13–9 loss.
The Jaguars had another slow start giving up seven goals in the first only scoring two. The Jags found some defensive strength keeping Mira Mesa scoreless while putting away one in the second. The Jags were able to score two more goals in the third, but allowed four to trail 11–5.
The boys put together a charge in the fourth scoring four goals allowing two but came up short in another tough loss.
“This game was a tough reminder that we not only need to start the game with intensity, we need to play solid for four quarters,” Kline said.
Macfarlane had a big game with six goals, one block, and earned one penalty shot. Cody Wolf had a good game with two goals, and three assists. Murphy had one goal, two steals, and one block. Swartz had five goal saves.
“The tournament was a great learning experience for us and showed us what we need to work on before we begin league play,” Kline added.
Valley Center also had a non–league game against San Pasqual last Tuesday at Jim Stone Pool and came up short in a 10–7 loss.
San Pasqual took an early 4–0 lead. The Jags picked it up a bit allowing two goals but were able to score only one. The boys picked it up on offense a bit scoring three goals in the third, but allowed four to trail 10–4 going into the fourth.
The Jags again were able to put away three more goals holding the Eagles scoreless but couldn’t get the goals they needed at the end.
“We had a slow first half, and ran out of time trying to dig our way back into it,” Kline said. “We had several missed opportunities in the fourth quarter and could not convert.”
Macfarlane had a good game with four goals, one assist, and four steals. Wolf had two goals, one block, and earned one exclusion. Walder had one goal, and one steal. Swartz had another good game with eight goal saves.
Thursday the Jags begin play in the University City Invite with another chance at Monte Vista.
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