Game Recaps From Graphic

NHS girls suffer rare home loss
By: Seth Gordon Published: 9/10/2010 3:26:48 PM

Perhaps just as much as winning the last five state championships, it says a lot about the Newberg girls water polo program that longtime head coach Jim McMaster can’t remember the last time the Tigers lost a home game.

Whenever that streak of wins began, it was snapped Tuesday via an 8-6 loss to Lincoln at the Chehalem Aquatic Center

According to Newberg standards, the team is younger and more inexperienced than it has been in some time.

Add that 2008 state tournament MVP Keilani Ladrini didn’t return to play her senior year and the Tigers’ offensive struggles showed against the Cardinals.

“They need to work on that and understand their roles,” McMaster said. “It was good to have a game like that in the beginning of the season because we see what we need to work on. Offense is definitely it. We need to be less tentative and more aggressive towards the cage.”

Sophomores Cassie Beecher and Alysha Bush led the team with three and two goals, respectively; Alexis Vargas chipped in one.

Newberg was better on the defensive end, but still surrendered too many open shots and depended heavily on senior goalie Meghan O’Halloran — last season’s state tournament MVP — who blocked eight shots.

“Defense is more important to me than offense,” McMaster said. “If we score two and they score one, we’re going to win the game, so we’ll still be working hard on that. But we do need to get that one point, so we’ve got to work on that.”

The Tigers did rebound Thursday with a 20-4 victory over Aloha.

Bush and Beecher scored five goals apiece, with the latter dishing out three assists, and Vargas added three goals and three helpers. Clara Pugsley, Elizabeth Kaufman, Mekala Gassner each scored twice and Kylie Dunn chipped in with one goal.

O’Halloran blocked nine shots for the Tigers (2-1 after a win against David Douglas Sept. 2). Newberg travels to Lake Oswego Monday before facing an important test Wednesday at home versus Pacific Conference rival Tualatin.

“I think they were being a little more heads up,” McMaster said of the Aloha game. “I saw a little improvement. It wasn’t huge. I did see in some of the kids eyes that they were catching on a little bit. That’s what I want to see.”