The Los Banos Tigers and Pacheco Panthers boys water polo teams faced off in a highly anticipated matchup that showcased not only the athletic abilities of the athletes but also the rivalry between the two schools. This annual cross-town rivalry is always a big part of the season, and this year’s game did not disappoint.
The Tigers hosted the Panthers at Pacheco High School on Sep. 3 and came away with a close 6-4 victory. With their win, the Tigers improved their record to 2-0 and the Panthers fell to 1-1. The Tigers next match will be on Sep. 30 at Merced High School at 5 p.m. The Panthers hosted the Johansen Vikings on Sept. 16.
At the start of the game, the Panthers took an early two-goal lead on the Tigers with goals from team captains Magelil Roxas and Matthew Reyes. The rest of the first quarter was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams.
In the second quarter, the Tigers got themselves on the scoreboard with a goal from Nate Ekstrom. Dominick Hurst added another goal for the Panthers, which extended their lead to 3-1.
The Tigers had a very strong third quarter with three goals. The Panthers scored just one more goal by Frank Lopez and the game was then tied with the score of 4-4.
In the fourth quarter, the Tigers defense halted the Panthers offense and left them scoreless. The Tigers went on and punched in two more goals which gave the Tigers the victory with the final score being 6-4. The Tigers bounced back from last year’s 7-4 loss to the Panthers.
Edgar Vizcarra and Nate Ekstrom led the way for the Tigers with two goals each, followed by goals by Gannon Lemos, and Chase Fifield.
After the game, Lemos said, “The reason we won was because of the outstanding performance by our goalie Garret Lemos. He blocked countless shots all game and really kept us in the game.” Brothers Garrett and Gannon Lemos are the captains for the Tigers and will be key players for the Tigers this year.
For the Panthers, they showed strength in the first half but slowed down in the second half. Pacheco senior Alessandro Hurst said, “To me, this was a very close and intense game that many of us didn’t expect to end with that close of a score. I was very confident going into the half that we would win, but the Tigers came out aggressive and won the game. We realized there is a lot of room for improvement.”
