With some of Christopher’s varsity starters not present for Thursday’s game, Shannon McAvoy’s role as captain became all the more important.
McAvoy led her squad — which included some junior varsity players stepping in for the varsity players who were on a field trip — to a strong defensive showing against the girls water polo powerhouse Monterey. But it was the Toreadores who came out on top, beating the Cougars 10-4 at Christopher (3-3 overall, 2-2 in league).
McAvoy scored two goals in the game, including the team’s first in the second quarter to cut Monterey’s lead to 5-1.
But the real highlight for the Cougar’s captain was how well her defense played in the game.
“It was definitely a rough game and Monterey is a good team, but I think our defense was a lot better today than I expected,” McAvoy said. “We’re working on taking on teams that are stronger — like Monterey — and working on defense more so than offense. I think we did good on that today.”
Four CHS players had steals in the game, but were led by Ashley Irby who had five. Goalie Bella Marquez had a stellar showing in the cage, coming up with 11 save in the game.
“Our goalie was top notch as always,” Cougars coach Jim Shuster said, continuing that the team’s lack of sprinters made it hard to get things going on offense against Monterey.
Cristina Mendoza added a goal for Christopher in the game, while Ashley Shuster scored the final goal.
The Cougars will be back in the water at 4 p.m. Thursday to take on Salinas at Hartnell Junior College. McAvoy said she’s hoping her team can pick up the pace before this contest.
“We could always use more speed in the pool,” she said. “It’s a swim sport, so we could use more swimming speed and maybe a little bit more focus on offense. I thought our defense was strong though which was our goal for today.”
