This season, the water polo team has experienced many changes but has improved greatly in the last month.
On October 3rd, the Fords played Episcopal Academy in a highly competitive match. The game went back and forth as both teams traded blows, with the Fords eventually falling at the hands of a late goal, finishing 10-12. Following the game, many players felt determined to turn the season around.
“The loss against EA really shook us. We hadn’t lost to EA in seven years, so we were really surprised. It definitely gave us some motivation to go out and play our hardest for the next month,” Fifth Former Thomas Springer said.
Following the loss, the team had dominant wins against the Hill School, Malvern Prep, and Penn Charter, winning by scores of 11-8, 14-5, and 14-9.
Later, the Fords lost to a strong Upper Dublin team with a score of 13-19. However, this could’ve been caused by the loss of their starting goalie, Fifth Former Mookie Dumbar, due to a concussion. Third Form J.V. goalie Bryan Lentz stepped up to play for the varsity for the first time.
“I felt a heavy burden on me to help the team. It was a good experience for me to play at a high level, and, even though we lost, it gave me the determination for the next game against Germantown Academy,” Lentz said.
The Fords followed through with a strong win against Germantown Academy, winning 13-10. Then, this past weekend, the Fords played in Easterns, one of the biggest tournaments of the year. In their first game, they played the Hill School. The Fords got off to a hot start, leading 5-0, but a flurry of goals by Hill would draw the game closer. However, the Fords held them off to win 13-11. In their second game of the day, they rematched against Episcopal Academy, losing 11-13.
“Mookie should hopefully be back in for EA Day, which should help a lot as he’s the backbone of the defense.”
SAm Putter ’26
“We had a really hard game against Hill, so people were pretty tired going into the game against Episcopal Academy and weren’t as ready for their physicality,” Sixth Former Sam Putter said. “Mookie should hopefully be back in for EA Day, which should help a lot as he’s the backbone of the defense.
To prepare for EA Day, the team trains with a new sense of urgency.
“We’ve been training hard since the start of the season, and we’re going to continue to do that to set ourselves up in the best position possible,” Putter said. “In water polo, defense is built on effort. Since EA moves around a lot more than most teams, we’ve been practicing moving around a lot to counter their play style during recent practices.”
The Fords are also going to employ a fast-paced offense.
“Our main focus is going to be on offense, trying to simply outscore EA with our key players,” Putter said.
They are also looking for a more solidified game plan.
“I believe that our players are much stronger than EA’s players, and they’ve simply had better game plans than us. They recently got a new coach who’s been helping their team greatly,” Fifth Former Henry McDade said. “We’ll be looking to craft a strong strategy before our final game.”
With such a difficult game to end the season, the team is looking to get all the support possible.
“The more people who attend the game to support us, the more confidence we will have. How well we play depends on the size of the student section and how much noise they can make,” Putter said. “We will be really happy to have a large crowd, since it will give us the boost of energy we need to perform well.”