It was a tough week on the scoreboard for the Sweet Home water polo teams, who ran into some tough competition on the road at Sprague before visiting West Albany last week.
Sweet Home at West Albany
The Husky boys played a “physically demanding” game, losing 20-14, on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
“They did a super job on defense and made quite a few impressive plays on offense,” said Coach Kathy Benzo of the boys.
Jayce Calhoon was top scorer with six goals and three steals. Zach Fetch and Joel Gunselman both added three goals and Jonathan Lemar scored two. Fetch also contributed seven steals.
Sweet Home’s girls won by forfeit over West Albany, which fielded a combined team of players from South Albany and West Albany.
Alysia Benzo was top scorer for the Huskies, with seven goals, four assists and seven steals. Justine Calhoon added four goals, four assists and six steals, while Nicole Martin recorded two goals and two assists.
“The girls team is learning how to communicate very well with each other and listen to each other to become better players,” Kathy Benzo said. “Laura Gourley is doing a very impressive job in the point position that she is playing.”
Sweet Home at Sprague
Sweet Home ran into a buzz saw in the pool Tuesday, Sept. 19, at Sprague, as both the girls and boys teams were overwhelmed by the superior numbers of the hosts.
Still, Coach Kathy Benzo said, it was a good learning experience.
“Both of the Sweet Home teams lost, but they continue to grow and get stronger with each match,” she said.
The girls lost 18-9 to Sprague, “a very fast-moving team, very tough competitors,” Benzo said. “Sprague has 17 girls on their team; we have 10. Our girls showed great character and played hard till the last second. The girls team is learning how to communicate very well with each other and listen to each other to become better players.”
The boys also had a very physical game, losing 16-8.
“The boys are really working hard on penetrating into their offensive positions and getting stronger with every match,” she said.
Justine Calhoon was top scorer for the Huskies with five goals and three steals. Alyshia Benzo added three goals and nine steals, while Tee Whaley recorded 11 saves in goal.
“The girls’ defense was very strong, but our passing was off,” Kathy Benzo said.
Jayce Calhoon led the boys with four goals, and Kieren Schaefer added two more.
The Huskies will be back in action Wednesday, Sept. 27, at home against Summit and then will play at Corvallis Thursday, Sept. 28.