Senior Night a success for Blue Devil girls
The game plan for Senior Night is the same no matter the sport: play hard, play well and send the graduating class out with a happy memory.
The Davis High girls water polo team executed this strategy to perfection on Wednesday, shutting down a decent Oak Ridge squad, 14-0, in the final game at Arroyo Pool for a standout group of seniors.
Blue Devil coach Doug Wright gathered the players and parents right before the game to recall the contributions each of them had brought to the pool over their time with DHS (22-3).
Wright began by recognizing Amanda Lilliedoll, a former phenom has been sidelined for most of the past year with shoulder injuries. Lilliedoll is listed on the club’s posters as the team manager, but she started Wednesday’s game with the rest of her classmates.
Then, Wright announced Yelda Eser, “the voice of the Blue Devils,” followed by Rachel Johnson, who he called a “salt-of-the-earth person.” Hailey Wright, the coach’s niece, was commended for being a “rock star for the last three years on defense … (and a) really smart player.”
The versatile Zoe Malot was described as “so good in so many ways,” before the ceremony concluded with coach Wright thanking four-year varsity goalie Haley Cameron for being so unselfish with her playing time.
For Johnson, the celebration immediately carried over into the water as she nailed both of DHS’ first-period goals, then added a third later on. The Devils also received clutch goalkeeping from Cameron, who blocked a Trojan penalty shot.
Wright added a pair of goals, and Malot supplied a tally as well, but as usual, the two made their biggest contributions on defense.
While the senior class displayed their abilities, the younger players showed that Davis has much hope for the future. Sophomores Lauren Owens and Heather Johnson and juniors Annie Bowers and Sofia Cardenas each scored twice in Wednesday’s win.
“We’ll graduate some studs, other teams will graduate some studs, but we’ve got four of the best sophomores and freshmen that anyone has (in Owens, Heather Johnson, Colby Stapleton and Mara Dominguez),” Wright said. “I think we’re going to be locked and loaded for the next few years.”
Though the Blue Devils certainly emerged the clear victor against the Trojans, the margin could have been even greater were it not for a little bad luck. Six DHS shots managed to find the posts throughout the course of the game.
Next up, Davis will enter the NorCal Championship on Friday as the third seed in a field of 16. Wright expects that if the team plays well, they should end up in the top four.
But for the Devils, that tournament is more of a warm-up for the Sac-Joaquin Section championship, which begins on Nov. 4. DHS is ranked first in the section.
“We’re not about winning NorCals,” Wright said. “We’re about winning a section title, and having fun while we do it. We’ll let the chips fall where they may, but we’re going to play our best, and if we play our best, I think we stand a chance at winning this weekend.”
— Reach Benjy Egel at begel@davisenterprise.net
Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=97841
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Posted by Benjy Egel
on Oct 26 2011.
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