Chaminade 5 - Ladue 3

Jake Entwistle is my hero. Jake is probably our most gifted player physically and when he puts his mind to something (like setting up in the hole and ripping a halo backhand for a game-winning goal) he can do almost anything in the water. Now if I can only learn to get him to put his mind to doing that ALL THE TIME, then the Red Devils might be looking at the school's first water polo title.

The game was very nerve-wrecking (or is it nerve-racking? Not sure which it is). As expected, our team defense was excellent, allowing one first half goal on a perfect shot into the corner that most Olympians couldn't have saved. Ladue's second goal came in the 4th off a counter attack. The Rams leading scorer, Zach Varwig, left Jake as he was walking towards the goal with the ball. Our lack of communication again came back to bite us as Blake, Jake and everyone else on the bench (including me) should have made sure someone was going back to cover Zach. Jack Meara got the message too late and Zach had a one-on-one with Blake (impossible for the goalie to stop). As a lesson to all, you cannot let someone "cherry pick". If a defender leaves for offense, you need to go with him (or make sure someone is going back for you). Ladue's third goal was a weak backhand that caught Blake by surprise and he still nearly saved it.

Q: So if the defense was so good, why was the game nerve-wrecking/racking?
A: Because our offense was so flat that we didn't score until 3 minutes into the second half.

The opportunities were there for us, especially in the first half with at least 4 breakaways. I can point to many things that we could have done better, but the offensive woes boil down to three things:

1. Having beaten Ladue twice already, the boys were not focused before the game. As a team that beats teams by being smarter and executing better than the other team, being unfocused before a game is suicide. We aren't a bunch of 200 lb. bruisers who can have an off night and get by on our athleticism. We need to have sharp mental focus if we are to succeed.
2. Even though we practice passing ad nauseum during practice, our passing (especially wet passing to a guarded or moving target) is atrocious. We do a good job getting open on offense, but the window to get the ball to an open driver is small and we need to execute better.
3. Senior captain Kevin Arnold was out with a concussion that he suffered during the DeSmet game. Largely considered the emotional leader and one of the better passers, Kevin's absence magnified that two biggest problem areas in this game.

But, we survived and finsihed third in the Suburban Central Conference. We persisted and we did not give up. I'm proud of the way we played in such a close and emotional game. We will likely see this team again, so we need to make sure we get up for it next time.

Side note: if the shot clock is off (less than 35 second remaining) and you are in the lead, you NEVER should shoot. Shooting gives the other team an opportunity to make a play and come back on you. Even if you are all alone in front of the cage, I would prefer you hold the ball rather than try and score. History is littered with examples of people having a "sure thing" like a goal on an open cage and the sure thing ends up going awry. The best thing to do is play keep-away until the clock runs out.

Goals: Kubik - 2, Benage - 1, Entwistle - 1, Watkins - 1
Assists: Meara - 2, Benage - 1, Kubik - 1
Steals: Entwistle - 6, Kubik - 3, Benage - 2, Duncan - 2, Meara - 2, Faust - 1, Hoette -1, Stabler -1
Kickouts: NONE
Saves: Stabler - 15

Player of the Game: Entwistle - 1 goal (game winner) on 1 shot, 6 steals and displayed his ability to be an unstoppable beast if he wants to be.

Up next: Districts!