In a regular season finale that saw two of Coronado High School’s starters – Luca Morocco and Russell Richardson – sitting out, the Islanders pulled out one of their grittiest wins.
After going into halftime down 3-2 to the Francis Parker Lancers, the Islanders outscored their opponent 7-3 in the second half to win 9-6 on Oct. 30.
Part of the reason Coronado found themselves down early was due to a lack of energy to start the game.
“What didn’t go well was that we were a little lethargic to start the game,” said head coach David Throop.
However, Throop was encouraged by the way his team responded to the low energy start and lack of Morocco and Richardson’s presence.
“Seeing the way the team responded, especially Charlie Pretzinger and Leo Salata on offense, Braydon McLean in the goal, and Carter Mondzelewski on matching up with Parker’s best perimeter player, was awesome,” Throop said.
Coronado is playing its best water polo of the season, as the team has won nine out of the last 10 games, and in that time, outscored its opponents 122-83. Adding to that impressive number, the team has averaged 12.2 points in those matches.
Throop identified two main goals this team has had throughout the season.
“The ultimate goal for this team is two-fold,” Throop said. “First, to develop a sense of team culture and community, which we’ve been successful at. The second goal is to play our best games in November and let the cards fall where they may.”
In terms of why the Islanders are playing their best water polo, Throop attributed some of that to early parts of the season. Though they started shaky with a record of 5-9 in the first 14 games, seeds were planted in what would turn out to be a really solid team.
“Playing better as the season progresses is the goal of any team,” Throop said. “We have a group that has bought into the “why” of doing things a certain way, and they’re hungry to keep playing and advancing. It’s a byproduct of one, the team buying into the idea of gradual improvement, and two, seeing progress earlier this season.”
Throop said he feels good about where the team is at, but there is always improvement to be made.
“The mindset going into the playoffs has been positive,” Throop said. “Our points of emphasis have been on refining some basic skills that lead to better execution of tactical strategies, and just refocusing on what we’ve incorporated throughout the season.”
