It was a historic day for water polo.

For the first time, Manteca Unified featured visiting Lathrop High squaring off against Sierra High in a non-league contest on Monday.

“This was the first intra-district water polo match for MUSD,” said Timberwolves coach Dave Breitenbucher.

He and head coach Corey Winters were especially thrilled at getting that first victory for the program.

The Sierra boys (1-6) jumped out to a 15-0 first-half lead en route to a 23-4 win, while the girls held off the Spartans, 18-13.

“They all played well,” said Breitenbucher, who used that sizable lead to work on different facets of the game.

“We worked on our fast break, defense and ball movement,” he added.

Ben Supinger paced the otherwise balanced scoring attack with a game-high seven goals.

Freshman Jacob Hargus got into the act by scoring his first-ever two goals.

The Spartans (0-8), coached by Brian Keeney, finally broke the scoreless string in the final seconds before the break. Jermaine Buckley netted his goal from straight away long distance, making it a 15-1 game.

He scored twice while Gustavo Lando Betancourt also accounted for a goal.

“This game was big for both programs,” Breitenbucher said. “I know our kids are excited.

“They’re having a fun time and they’re enjoying playing and learning about water polo.”

Molly Fadeff scored five straight goals to kick off the second half, leading her team with a game-high 11 goals.

The Timberwolves (1-6) jumped out to an early lead only to see the Spartans (0-8) behind Hannah Stewart, Amaya Terry and Sophia Serrano charge back.

Sierra’s lead was whittled down to 10-8 at the intermission.

Fadeff’s scoring string helped push the lead, 17-8.

Lathrop closed out by going on a 5-1 run to provide the final deficit.

Serrano and Stewart finished with five and three goals, respectively.

The Spartans will travel to Pacheco today.