Water polo teams fall to Clovis East
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera’s Bailey Hansen sends a shot over the Clovis East goalie to score one of her two goals in a 9-6 loss to the Timberwolves.
In its home opener, the Madera Coyote girls water polo team battled tough against Div. I Clovis East, but fell 9-6 at the McAlister Swim Complex.
The Coyotes had five different players score goals in the loss, but couldn’t overcome a 5-2 halftime deficit.
The Coyotes took the early lead when Bailey Hansen got a pass on the right and shot into the upper left corner for a 1-0 lead.
However, Clovis East responded with two goals in 33 seconds and three goals in 1:20 for a 3-1 lead.
Less than a minute after Clovis East’s third goal, the Coyotes cut the lead to one. Katie Ylarregui got the ball in the middle. She sent a pass to Ashlyn Ortega on the left who shot into the lower right corner for the goal.
Clovis East scored off a crossing pass with just 0.3 seconds left in the first quarter. The Timberwolves scored the only goal of the second period for a 5-2 halftime lead.
In the third period, Madera’s Lola Gill, on the right, sent a pass to the inside to Maddie McNeil. She immediately sent the pass back to Gill, who shot high into the opposite corner for the goal.
Clovis East scored less than a minute later for a 6-3 lead. The Timberwolves scored with two minutes left in the third for a 7-3 lead.
The fourth quarter opened with a pair of blocks from Madera goalie Nicole Gibbs. However, Clovis East scored two goals in 28 seconds for a 9-3 lead.
The Coyotes closed out the game with three goals. McNeil, in front of the goal, scored into the right corner 15 seconds after Clovis East scored.
Thirty seconds later, Emily Lopez-Ibarra scored into the upper left corner on a long shot. After a Gibbs block, the Coyotes scored again. Gill sent a long pass to Hansen up front. Hansen beat her defender and the goalie to the ball and shot into the empty net for the final goal of the game in a 9-6 loss. Boys Water Polo
Despite the strong showing from goalie Kyle Balbas, the Madera Coyotes boys water polo team couldn’t keep up with the Clovis East Timberwolves in a 17-4 loss.
Garrin Hatfield scored twice and Madera also got goals from Robby Niino and Blake Favors.
Balbas did what he could with nine blocks in the game, but Clovis East was too much, scoring six goals in the first and third periods for the win.
Madera, in a man-up situation, got a goal from Favors in the second period. He received a pass from Santino Gonzales and quickly shot to the right for the goal.
In the third period, Jake Martines got the ball in front and sent a pass out to Hatfield, who quickly shot through the hands of the Clovis East goalie.
After Niino scored his only goal of the game, Hatfield scored his second of the game. He got a pass from Niino and sent it into the wide-open net for the goal.
