The Sierra and East Union water polo teams squared off Wednesday at Sierra with the Timberwolves boys picking up their first win of the season 21-7 and the Sierra girls remaining undefeated in Valley Oak League play, 14-6.
“I feel really good,” Sierra boys coach Cory Winter said. “I think the boys were amazing.
“They were working well together and communicating. Everything we have been working on showed in this game, so I am really proud of the boys. They did really good today.”
Bayan Ballew got the Timberwolves (1-2 VOL, 1-4 overall) off to a great start with four first-quarter goals, as Sierra led 6-0 after the opening period. Ballew finished with eight goals.
“It felt great today,” Ballew said. “We have had a slow start to our season, so it definitely feels good to get this win.
“I am hoping this will give us some momentum for the rest of the season.”
Mason Chavez scored three of his six goals for Sierra in an 8-1 fourth period.
“We came in 0-4,” Chavez said. “And we knew what we had to do and we executed to a T.
“It was a good game to get our momentum, and we are looking forward to the rest of the season.”
Erik Johnson added three goals for the Timberwolves, Kirai Tran two with one each for starting goalie Noah Valdivia (six saves) and Dallin Murray.
Alexander Freeman started at goalie for the Lancers (0-2, 2-5) and made eight saves before coming out of the net and scoring two goals. Tyse Goodwin led East Union with three goals. Davis Duff and James Russell each added a goal.
“Our best quarter was the second quarter,” East Union coach Jesse Reidt said. “We scored two and they didn’t score any. We won the second quarter, and if we played that way every quarter we win the game.
“The rest of the time we just made stupid mistakes.”
The Sierra girls (3-0, 9-4) went to the bench early and often.
“We were looking to get everyone a little bit of playing time today,” Timberwolves girls coach Lauren Koury said. “This is another team that is kind of like a sister team to us. We practice with them all summer long at the Manteca Dolphins swim team, the rec team that I coach, and they are all very familiar with each other.
“A lot of them have grown up with each other, and so we wanted to keep today fun. We wanted to keep it classy, win with class, and make sure everyone got some playing time.”
Eight different Sierra players scored with Kiera Ellis and Rylee Danel each getting three goals.
“I think we played really well as a team,” Ellis said. “We got down we set up and that’s what was needed.
“And if we keep doing that for every game we will be successful throughout the year, and it was fun playing with these girls today.”
Danel got two of her goals in the opening period.
“I thought we played really good defense,” Danel said. “We were confident in our shots, we worked great as a team and we can grow on that.”
Kenidee Bauer and Molly Allen added two goals apiece for the Timberwolves with Ella Wright, Phoebe Burke and Bianca Fraser each adding a goal.
Ann Story tallied four of her five goals for the Lancers (0-2, 3-5) in the second half with Melanie Chavez adding a goal.
“Overall, I’m really happy with how we played,” East Union coach Landon Wolfe said. “Sierra is known for being a good team, and they won league last year.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the girls. We have got the first three program wins, and we are building great.”
The two programs continue play on Monday, with the Lancers traveling to Ripon and Sierra traveling to Oakdale. The girls games are at 4 p.m. and the boys at 5.
