The St. Louis U High water polo team had its first game in over 600 days on March 27, beating Chaminade 10-7. No spectators were allowed, but the game was broadcast on Chaminade Student Entertainment Network (CSPN), complete with announcers and commercials. 

“We certainly played hard the whole game,” said head coach John Penilla. “It’s obviously different playing a game than practice, and we practiced for five weeks and didn’t have a game last year, so some of these guys are playing their first game ever in high school and everybody was playing their first varsity game.”

The first quarter ended with SLUH up 3-0, with all three goals scored by captain Carson Cornett. SLUH struggled on defense during the first quarter and throughout the entire game; Chaminade hit the goalpost three times before SLUH scored the game’s first goal.

“I think we played not-so-great defense throughout parts of the game, but there were parts of the game where we shut them down and they couldn't get through. Then there were also parts of the game where they ran straight through us,” said Cornett.

SLUH’s defensive flaws became glaringly obvious in the second quarter, which left the two teams tied at half, 4-4. Sophomore Joe Zarilli was able to score off of a six-on-five play, but Chaminade made up for it by scoring four goals, piercing through SLUH’s defense.

Though SLUH’s defense may have been looking weak, the offense began to shine in the third quarter. Sophomore Brandon Harris opened up the quarter with three goals, one off of a six-on-five play,  and the next off of a 2-on-0, and the last on a long shot from the 6-meter mark. Junior Brody Nester also scored a breakaway goal to end the quarter with SLUH back up, 8-4.

Cornett said, “I think we made some really smart plays on offense, when we ran good offenses.”

The game ended strong with goals from Cornett and junior Sam French for SLUH, as well as three goals for Chaminade, leaving the final score 10-7. With the first win under its belt, the team is prepping for its next game: Wednesday against Parkway Central at 5:30 p.m. 

Regarding what the team needs to improve, head coach Penilla said, “The truth is, again, nobody (on the team) has ever played at this level, so trying to find that consistency of what that level needs to be, not just for a couple possessions, but every possession, every single time on defense, every single time on offense, making sure that (they) know what (they) are supposed to be doing.”