Last season, the Olympians finished with a 20-11 record, and it seems that this season the men are off to a great start with a victory against the Palomar Comets on Wednesday afternoon.
Led by Coach Nathan Resch, the men’s team had an eventful game against the Palomar Comets whom they defeated 15 to 12. When the whistle blew, all bets were off. During the first quarter, Palomar scored first. However, it has been said that he who laughs first does not necessarily laugh last. Shortly after that, No. 15 Nick Van Nordheim for the Olympians spikes the ball into the goal for Mesa’s first score of the game. In the blink of an eye Palomar scores taking the Comets on top 3 to 1. Then Mesa hustles to score another goal made by No. 3 Ian Davidson that leaves the Olympians trailing by 1 with a score of 3 to 2. At the end of the first quarter the score was Palomar 4, Mesa 3.
The beginning of the second quarter was slow. Both teams went scoreless until Nick Van Nordheim passed the ball to No. 10 Obed Davila (center) for a spike to the goal to tie the game up 4 to 4 after a brief two-minute timeout. However, with four minutes remaining in the second quarter, Palomar scores to go up by one point. Two scores later, Palomar has a three point lead over our Mesa Olympians with 2:16 remaining in the first half. Just less than a minute later, our Olympians make two scores to bring Mesa within one point of the Comets with a score of 7 to 6.”We had a three point lead!” exclaimed one Palomar Comet on the sidelines, confused as to how the Comets lost their momentum. The confusion did not end there as the Olympians worked under the radar to tie up the game 7 to 7 with 12.8 seconds remaining in the first half.
With the second half under way, in the third quarter The Olympians leave the Comets trailing by one point. Mesa scores twice, with a third score by Nick Van Nordheim, to give our Olympians a two-point lead with a score of 11 to 9. Mesa kept building momentum as No. 22 Joshua Ross scored to take Mesa to a three-point lead over Comets with 1:22 remaining.
The fourth and final quarter of the game signaled “crunch time” for both teams. No. 4 Stephen Neville for Mesa, spikes a shot for a goal to make it a four point game. Palomar plays the game tit-for-tat and scores to keep the Comets within three points of our Olympians. After a penalty, Palomar spikes a goal to bring the Comets within two points of the Olympians, with a score of 13 to 11. With 4:55 left, the Mesa Olympians score a goal to reclaim their three-point lead over the Comets. Within thirty seconds, the Olympians return with another score making it a four-point game with 4:20 left in the game. Both teams went scoreless in the last four minutes of the game until there were 13.8 seconds remaining and the Palomar Comets scored the last goal of the game leaving us with a final score of Mesa Olympians 15 to Palomar Comets 12.
If you want to watch the Olympians Water Polo team in action, the next game is at San Diego Miramar College on Wednesday September 9 at 3:15 PM. For more information on the team and an opportunity to play, contact Coach Nathan Resch at (619)388-2429.