With Marmonte League title back in hand, Agoura water polo team eyes bigger trophy

By Kyle Jorrey jorrey@theacorn.com

Following a 22-6 clobbering of Moorpark on Tuesday, coaches and players in the Agoura girls’ water polo program rested comfortably knowing that the Marmonte League title was back in the hands of the Chargers after a one-year hiatus.

Led by junior Meghan Corso’s five goals, Agoura (21-5, 11-0 in Marmonte) steamrolled its way to its 11th consecutive league victory this season, solidifying its position two games ahead of the second place Royal Highlanders, who last year were the first team other than Agoura to win Marmonte in five years.

"Last year when we lost the league title . . . the girls really took it to heart," said head coach Jason Rosenthal. "Our slogan all year long was ‘take it back,’ and they really put in the effort so they could do just that. I’m really happy for them. They’ve earned it."

Earning the respect of opposing players and coaches with their skill in water and their incredible depth, Agoura has proven itself all year long to be a couple strokes ahead of its local competition.

Led by a balanced scoring attack, a deep bench and a stopper in net (sophomore Sara Gratlizer), the Chargers have outscored their Marmonte opponents 186-46 going into tomorrow’s final match with last-place Calabasas. Rarely trailing in a game, if even for a moment, Agoura’s stiffest competition came from Royal, whom the Chargers defeated 10-7 two weeks ago.

Nevertheless, the Chargers say they’ve never stopped working and never stopped challenging themselves to improve. Even at Monday’s practice, Rosenthal and assistant coach Donovan Tatum were vocally adamant in trying to get the team to remedy its few shortcomings.

"We’re going to work hard until we lose, or until we win it all, whichever happens first," said Rosenthal, who coached Agoura to a CIF title in 2001. "We’re going to push the kids all the way through because it’s a life lesson for them . . . We want them to understand in life that you need to be able to finish things off and work hard right up until the very end."

This past weekend the Chargers took several days off from their Marmonte League schedule to compete in the annual Irvine Southern California Championships, a tournament that featured water polo powerhouses such as Orange County, Foothill, Santa Margarita and Newport Harbor. Division IV rival Santa Barbara, which is currently ranked ahead of Agoura in the CIF poll, was also in attendance though the two teams did not meet in the pool.

Agoura finished the weekend with two wins and three losses, including wins over Dos Pueblos and Long Beach Poly. But more importantly, said Rosenthal, the team got to see how it measures up against SoCal’s finest just two weeks before the start of playoffs, which kick off next Friday.

"This is a great tournament for us because it’s really meant to get us ready for the playoffs by facing tougher competition," Rosenthal said. "Nothing against our league teams, but we wanted to make sure we played at the next level and this tournament really took us there just in time for playoffs."

Senior Stephanie Pearce agreed.

"It was almost better to lose a game down there than to win a game up here (in Marmonte) because we learn so much more," Pearce said. "We could really see what works and what doesn’t and then use that this week in practice."

With the start of the postseason less than a week away, the team’s lone two seniors, Pearce and Cassie Cohen, are doing all they can to keep their younger teammates motivated and get them prepared. With only four players with postseason experience, the help and advice from the older girls becomes invaluable.

"I just keep telling them they have to keep their chins up, and keep fighting all the way through the whole game," said Pearce, who recovered from a broken ankle last year just in time for Agoura’s one-point loss to Santa Barbara in the playoff semifinals. "Because if you give up early in the game, it’s over."

After three consecutive semifinals losses (2001-Santa Barbara, 2002-Cabrillo, 2003-Santa Barbara), the Chargers are looking for that end-of-the-season spark that will hopefully ignite a run to the championship match. Think of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles as they worked to get past the championship game and into the Super Bowl.

"We definitely want to prove ourselves out there," said Cohen, who grew from an inexperienced first-year water polo player her freshman year to become co-team captain along with Pearce.

"We want to show everybody not only can we win in Marmonte, but we can win at that next level as well. … Sure, there’s pressure, but we just have to keep cool and play to the best of our abilities."