The Malibu High School (MHS) girls water polo team is successfully wrapping up the first week of league play with a 5-1 record. Led by coach Hayden Goldberg, the Sharks posted a 12-7 victory over Carpinteria and a 13-6 loss against Foothill Tech at home last Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
“[Carpinteria] was a big win because they beat us twice last year,” sophomore Sophie Spivack said. “You don’t really know a team until you play them. I think [the win] just shows how well we play as a team.”
Defending CIF champion Foothill’s victory broke the Sharks’ undefeated league streak.
“Their team has a lot of depth,” Spivack added. “They have a lot of great shooters and a lot of their girls play club in the off season. When a team is hot, it’s hard to beat.”
“We played very well as a team,” junior Zoe Detweiler added. “It was our first loss in a while, so we have to learn from our mistakes.”
Following their series of home games, the Sharks hit the road and traveled to the Oxnard Tournament on Jan. 22-23. The girls opened the tournament with a blowout 8-1 victory over Burbank, but fell in the rest of their matches after several starting players suffered illnesses and injuries.
“I had to rest some of our girls, and this let others get their time in,” Goldberg said. “We have a bigger picture than the Oxnard Tournament right now. We have CIF coming up and we have to be healthy. Right now, our league is our focus.”
Goldberg is in his third year coaching the program and has witnessed the team grow in a positive direction.
“They’re all young girls that have grown into that older leadership role,” he said. “They’ve gotten beat up and have taken what you want out of championship teams. Last year, we had the skills but [the team] was just really young.”
This year’s team has specifically worked on getting faster in the pool and having a positive mindset in man-up situations. The girls’ hard work paid off when they went on a seven-game winning streak after losing to Oxnard 19-2 in their season opener.
“I told them that all the practice they put in was going to pay out, but they just had to wait, and the waiting game is hard,” Goldberg said.
Spivack and freshman Alex Mora were also selected to play with the Olympic Development Program this year. The two girls also train with the Stars and Stripes Bruin club team at Pepperdine University outside of high school season.
“We have a lot of leaders on every level — not just one or two players that make up the team,” Goldberg said. “We have speed, the girls are fierce and a lot of the girls want to play college.”
Detweiler has been on the varsity squad since she was a freshman, and said she has watched the team learn more and more every year.
“We’re all supportive and constructive of each other,” she added. “We’re always trying to help out the whole team and we all hang out sometimes.”
With league and CIF championships approaching at the end of next month, Goldberg and the Sharks have their sights set on making CIF finals.
“Our goal is really to make it as far as we can,” Spivack said. “I think we can make it to CIF and the finals. It’s a really big dream, but I think we can do it.”
“If we play with teams like Foothill, I think we can play with them, we can get to the finals,” Goldberg added. “[The girls are] winning with class and they know how to play.”
