Story and photos by Oscar Daniel Jimenez Iniguez
The California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) women’s water polo team narrowly defeated visiting Santa Clara 11-10 on Jan. 28 in their 2023 season home opener.
The first quarter of the game proved to be in the Otters’ favor as after an early Bronco goal by Kate Rodman (#8), Otter Amanda Bennett (#7) would go on to score twenty seconds later and was followed by a goal by Shea Tully (#9) and Celcile Judy (#3). Bronco Rodman scored another goal, which Monterey responded shortly after with a goal scored by Hailey Alexander (#5).
Santa Clara scored their last goal of the quarter just before Monterey finished with back-to-back goals. The Otters scored three goals in the second following quarter with Santa Clara only scoring one. The second half ended with the Otters leading 9-4.
The following quarter was a completely different story as Santa Clara went on a four-goal streak and defensively held Monterey to a scoreless quarter cutting the lead to 9-8. In the final quarter of the game, both teams scored two goals each with Monterey withstanding Santa Clara’s near comeback that ultimately fell short.
The Otters improved to 2-3 overall, while the Broncos fell to 0-1.
Their next game will be on Feb. 4 against Azusa Pacific University. For more information on upcoming games, visit otterathletics.com.
