Water polo teams speedo their way to success

After an epic week where the Men’s 1^st, Women’s 1^st, and Men’s 2^nd each won their games in a 3 day span, many wondered if this winning streak would continue.

The Women’s 1^st team faced Stirling at home and ultimately their domination with a 25-3 win. Every player scored a goal, illuminating the well-roundedness of this year’s team. On 10^th November, the girls faced tough competition in a weekend tournament of BUCS games in Edinburgh. First, the girls faced Durham University. The Saints started with an early lead with goals from Meredith Monroe, Nicole Pretorious, and Hilary Harvey, resulting in a score of 6-2 at the half. The game took a turn for the worse as Becca Blatz and Meredith Monroe were excluded from the game. Fortunately, the Saints finished strong and showed that the bench could really contribute resulting in a 10-4 win. The team was elated and ready to face Newcastle in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the Newcastle game was a bigger challenge. One of the team’s newest members, Paula Sanz Camacho, suffered from an injury by halftime and the team struggled to recover their momentum. The game ultimately ended in a 7-17 loss but provided a good boost for the team.

The Men’s 1^st team has continued their undefeated streak, dominating their opposition. With two wins against Glasgow (12-5) and Dundee (13-8) the pressure was on to continue to secure the way to earning the Scottish Student Sport Water Polo Championship. On November 21^st, the team faced Edinburgh for an important match. Both teams went into the match unbeaten with the first match in Edinburgh ending as a 7-7 tie, meaning this would effectively determine the title for 2012/13. Both teams were at full strength and with the game being streamed live on the internet the scene was set for a battle of the top two teams in the country and boy we were not disappointed.

Saints opened the scoring with an excellent team goal finished expertly by Captain Miles Radcliffe Trenner, however, Edinburgh came roaring back to take a 3-1 lead. The goals went back and forth between the teams, resulting in a 7-7 finish at halftime, reminiscent of the final score in their first game. Both teams refused to give the other any lead so the third quarter also ended in 10-10. The pressure was on in the fourth quarter. The Saints immediately were on the offensive and fresher Will Thompson, coming off the bench, was making a big impression in Saints’ attack, finding the back of the net twice just when the team needed it. The game exploded, Edinburgh scored what was argued to be an illegal goal. The Saints Goalkeeper Ivor Mollema protested to the ref and was promptly awarded a foul. Confusion ensued, Ivor believing he had been ejected from the game and the refs believing he was removing his cap to leave the pool deck. This resulted in Ivor actually being ejected from the game to the locker rooms. The Saints were forced into emergency changes and Austin Peh took on goalkeeping duties for the last 4 minutes of the game. Tensions were high as the game resumed. Edinburgh tied the game up with 2 minutes remaining. In the final minutes of the match, newcomer Will Thompson passed to George Galos who fired the ball past the Edinburgh keeper into the back of the net! The Saints slotted the ball behind the Edinburgh keeper to give them a memorable victory. Before the team pops the champagne, the Saints have to face Dundee and Stirling again, but their recent victories should leave the opposition shaking in their speedos.

After the match, Saints Director of Water Polo, Ian MacCallum said: “It was a great game from two top sides, I think on balance we deserved the win tonight. I am proud of the way my boys handled the pressure and showed real desire and heart. We still have to win our remaining two SSS games and we will concentrate on that, but the big prize is BUCS. We are through to the semifinals and the team can go all the way! This will be our season.”