On Saturday, Boys Water Polo played away at Hopkins for the final game of the season. The team lost but played a strong game nonetheless and competed well with its opponent. Its final record stands at 3-12.
Sean Niu ’25 shared how the team’s preparation during practice paid off, becoming a strength during the game.
“Leading up to the game we worked on a lot of six on five power plays. Also, in practice, we worked on finding new opportunities for everyone to be able to score, and we definitely found that this translated into the game,” said Niu. We were able to take many things we worked on in practice into the game, especially the power plays. In the game, we found that power plays were a big strength for us.”
While the team struggled to finish offensively at the beginning of the game, Brandon Xu ’26 noted that it improved as the game progressed.
“Our shooting definitely started off pretty slowly, we didn’t convert on any shots. And we were just a bit rushed and unorganized on offense a little bit. Towards the end of the game, we definitely got better at that. A strength we had was we all played very hard. Even though we went down big at the beginning and we were trying to fight back up, said Xu. “That was good that we didn’t give up.”
The team’s dynamic was a point of strength in its game on Saturday. Niu credited many of its successful plays throughout the game to the players being able to work together.
“We had really good chemistry. There was a six on five play where our lower Oliver [Stabach] ’26 found our freshman Jeffery [Lim] ’27 open on the post, and they made this pass and Jeffery almost dunked it, but unfortunately the ball didn’t go in. But, luckily we had another player that was on the alternate post that was able to push it into the goal. Our overall team coordination and chemistry worked out really well for us,” said Niu.
Xu noted the many impressive plays made by the second line. He highlighted the performance of Ethan Zhu ’26, scoring his second goal this season.
Xu said, “There were a lot of good moments, one moment that I really loved, personally, was after the starters went out, and then the second line went in. There were a lot of good plays made. Ethan got his second goal this season. Shout out to him!”
Saturday was Hopkins’ Senior Night, proving to be a challenge for the team. Zack Godsey ’25 explained that the loud atmosphere of the game made it difficult to concentrate.
“I would say if anything, it [being Hopkin’s Senior Night], made it pretty hard. Because all the parents are cheering super loud for the other team, it’s hard to focus,” said Godsey.
Despite Hopkin’s high score, the team kept a positive mentality throughout the game.
Godsey said, “Our attitude throughout the game was strong. We were all pretty mentally strong. There were moments where we played some really good defense. Obviously, there were lapses in that defense and the other team scored some goals. But there were times when we played very strong and we had a good attitude throughout.”
