Bonita water polo sends Camarillo the long way home

The first game of CIF was a complete success for Bonita on Thursday. The Bearcats defeated the Camarillo Scorpions, 17-9, advancing to the next round of the playoffs.  

The dominance at home was continued with the substantial win. The Bearcats were able to gain the advantage by having a higher seed in the Division 4 rankings due to their great record.

“I feel good going into CIF. I have faith that my team will bring everything we got and give it everything we can,” said goalie Alisha Plum.

Camarillo, like Bonita, is a young team with only five seniors and a runner-up in league. With those similarities, the two young teams also have major differences that set them apart. Key differences include that the Scorpions have a younger goalie than Bonita and a coach that has less experience with the team. Also, Bonita’s defense plays more efficiently and does not use harmful tactics against the opposing team.

The first quarter of the playoffs started off right with a four goal performance by Amanda Legaspi. Camarillo’s defense tried to stop her numerous times during the quarter but she was able to move past them and score. Erin Gonzalez made the quarter more interesting by finding the back of the net towards the end, but Camarillo answered with a goal 14 seconds later.

Bonita continued the high powered offense throughout the second quarter with seven goals; Camarillo found the net only once in the quarter. Their defense began to crumble towards the end of the quarter and their offense was not able to make up for the lost goals. Bonita was steps ahead of them throughout the first half. Jessica Argelander was outstanding on defense throughout the game. Rachel Garwick played great as goalie in the first half.

With a 12-2 lead coming into the second half, Bonita put in goalie Plum and rested Garwick. This marked Plum’s first time playing in CIF. Camarillo started to advance in the third quarter with three goals. Ciara Dennison took away their momentum by scoring with 16 seconds left on the clock for the third quarter.  

Bonita decided to rest all of their starters in the fourth quarter with the next game in mind. Emily Zirpoli started her first varsity game in goal after doing well on the junior varsity team this season. Camarillo scored three times while Bonita was not able to score in the last quarter. All the Bearcats had to do in the last quarter was hold their lead.

Bonita clinched the next round by playing great on offense and solid on defense. The offense was able to push past the defense and put pressure on the young goalie. The defense played by the rules and stole the ball away for most of the game. Bonita was able to stand tall when times got tough between them and Camarillo. Their way of play displayed why they should be in the playoffs. Their next game is Saturday against Mission Viejo.

—-Jenna Ortiz