The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
The562’s coverage of Jordan Athletics is sponsored by former LBUSD superintendent Chris Steinhauser.
The562’s coverage of aquatic sports in Long Beach is sponsored by the Aquatic Capital of America Foundation.
Lakewood came away with a gritty, hard fought win over Jordan in the Moore League Girls’ Water Polo Showcase. The Lancers and Panthers were neck and neck throughout the first half of play, but Lakewood was a new team in the second half as they defeated Jordan 12-6.
“I was really proud of them, especially in the second half, they played the water polo that we’re familiar with,” Lakewood Head Coach Ian Schubert said.
The game started off in the Lancers’ favor with a save from goalie Danika Beird and two goals from Aubrey Saxton and Marlee Johnson. However, the Panthers came out fighting and responded with a pair of goals from Paola Mejorado to tie the score 2-2 after the first quarter. Jordan goalie Nellie Arzate came up with some big stops for the North, finishing with eight saves on the night. One of these saves was at the start of the second quarter, but some penalties allowed Lakewood to score two early goals.
However, the Panthers weren’t going down in this half without a fight. Mejorado got her hat trick after she converted a steal to a goal and made the score 4-3. Two more goals for Lakewood and another for Jordan had the score sitting at 6-4 with less than ten seconds on the half. With an ejection working in their favor, Lakewood was on the attack with a 6 on 5 advantage, but Arzate came up with a big stop to keep the game close.
The second half saw an entirely different team of Lancers come out to play. Schubert said as soon as the first quarter ended, he told his team they were letting themselves get beat by making mistakes the Panthers could capitalize on.
“It was just one of those instances where I had to tell them to lock in,” Schubert said. “‘You want this, you need to go ahead and perfect these mistakes. These are little mistakes. Let’s play our game. Let’s be confident.’ And they went out and did it.”
While the third quarter started slow with no noise from either side, Saxton scored two goals to get her hat trick and kickstart the Lancers. From then on, Lakewood was constantly on the attack.
They found themselves one on one with Arzate and sometimes even on the advantage with a 2v1. Arzate continued to make some big saves for the Northside, but Lakewood’s offense kept pushing. After the third quarter, the Lancers had kept the Panthers scoreless and were up 9-4.
Even with some gained momentum in the third quarter, the fourth quarter started quietly again. Two minutes passed before a goal was scored, which came from Jordan’s Jocelyn Martinez.
Even with this goal, Lakewood’s defense was strong in the second half, limiting Jordan to just two goals. Saxton scored her fourth and final goal of the game in this quarter on the way to a 12-6 win for the Lancers.
“I really think our defense has been proving to be one of the key figures to our game altogether,” Schubert said.
Despite the loss, it was obvious the Panthers had a new look as fighting competitors this season.
“Jordan got really good this year, you know, they were a tough team. I’m beyond proud of Jordan,” Saxton said.
Jordan Head Coach Brenden Gruneisen said his team’s success can all be traced back to the players.
“It’s a testament to the girls’ hard work,” Gruneisen said. “They keep showing up, they keep working hard. Couldn’t be more proud of them, right? We really want to show the league what we’re about and that we’ve arrived.”
Jordan’s next league game will be back at Cabrillo when they play the Jags on Jan. 7. Lakewood will host Long Beach Poly that same day.
