The San Jose State women’s water polo team played the University of California, Berkeley on Saturday in preparation for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship at the end of the month.
Despite a valiant effort from the Spartans, SJSU fell at home 9-4 to the No. 5 ranked team in the country.
Senior attacker Lior Ben David recorded two points with a goal and an assist. Driver Clarissa Wandinger scored a goal and recorded a steal.
SJSU head coach Beth Harberts said, even in the loss, she was proud of the Spartans’ effort against a top-ranked team.
“Cal’s a strong adversary for us,” Harberts said. “They've been as high ranked as 3rd, so the fact that we’re able to hold a top five team under 10 goals was a tremendous effort from our team.”
At the sound of the starting buzzer, Ben David’s arms slapped the water, pulling her body toward the ball to snatch it and secure SJSU the first sprint of the game.
Cal got off to a strong start, scoring the first two goals of the game. At the 1:50 mark of the first period, Ben David scored a goal to tie the game at 2-2.
By the end of the first quarter, the two teams were tied 2-2.
The Golden Bears took control of the match in the second period, outscoring the Spartans 4-1 going into halftime.
At the intermission, Cal led 6-3.
The Golden Bears’ defense held the Spartans in the second half and cruised to a road victory.
Although the tie was short-lived, Harberts said she admired her team’s effort.
“Our team’s been very motivated in how we’re trying to approach these games so the mindset, I think, is pretty strong,” Harberts said.
The Spartans entered Saturday’s match on a three-game losing streak.
Goalie Hannah Henry was one of Saturday’s star players for the Spartans.
She blocked 16 of the Golden Bears’ shots, a feat Harberts said was no simple task.
“Hannah did a great job. She had 16 saves for us, which is a tremendous number, especially against a top ranked team,” Harberts said.
The Spartans are currently 12-15 and will compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship during the weekend of April 28.
SJSU is hosting the tournament for the first time in 12 years.
Four of the top five collegiate women’s water polo teams in the country will be in attendance.
“Our conference is the premiere league in terms of all the college conferences that are out there… and we’re hosting it,” Harberts said. “We’re just excited to be able to highlight our campus and our team.”
Henry said the team is looking forward to competing.
“We’re really excited to be able to compete and play,” Henry said. “It’s our last tournament of the year so it’s just gonna be really important for us the next few weeks to really prepare.”
Sophomore driver Maiken Pardon, who scored the Spartans’ first goal of the match, said team spirit and communication are essential to the team’s performance.
“The closer you get, then the better you can work as a team. That definitely starts outside the pool,” Pardon said.
With about 14 moving bodies in the pool at any given time during a match, Pardon said both these skills make a big difference in the heat of a game.
“When you build good teamwork, you're able to communicate well with your teammates and know where they wanna go and you can be able to read them,” Pardon said.
Cal started out with a 2-point lead less than halfway through the first quarter, but the Spartans quickly closed the gap, beginning with their first goal by Pardon.
In the span of six seconds, four Spartans held possession of the ball, each passing it to the next, with the last of them being Pardon.
In one swift movement, she dodged a block from an opposing player and hurled the ball straight past the goalie’s fingertips and into the net.
“Definitely when I go in to shoot, it’s like, I wanna finish this. I wanna make the goal,” Pardon said. “It’s a bummer when you miss, but it’s like, you just gotta keep going through it. Obviously you hope you make it.”
Cal’s offense proved to be too much for the Spartans at the end of the day.
Henry said as a goalie, she tried to take each of the Bears’ goals in stride.
“Personally it’s harder for me just because I am a goalie, so it’s harder to continue to be scored on,” Henry said. “I take the L’s and stuff, but I think that with how well we played today, we’re hoping to keep the momentum.”
The Spartans will play in their first match of the MPSF Championship on April 28 at 11:00 a.m.
Harberts encouraged students to attend and show support for the team during the three-day conference.
“Come out to MPSF! I think it’s gonna be really exciting,” Harberts said. “The more Spartans we can have in the crowd and kind of introduce our program as well to the campus, you know, we want everyone to come here and be rowdy and loud for us.”
