The Mariners settled into the grand surroundings of their new aquatic facility at Indian Valley with a 12-9 water polo victory over Foothill on Wednesday in College of Marin’s first home match of the season.
Alana McCartney led the Mariners (1-1) with five goals. Maya Hunter added three goals, with Novato High grad Rebecca Janssen and Lilly Weires each scoring twice.
After a back-and-forth first half, the Mariners’ hard-driving attack outscored the Owls 7-1 for the first 12 minutes of the second half. The Mariners really broke the game open late in the third period, when McCartney scored twice just 20 seconds apart. The first came on a pass across the goal from Weires, which McCartney powered into the back of the net with 1:27 left in the third. On the Mariners’ next possession, McCartney took the ball on an outlet pass and charged toward the goal, finally scoring over the outreaching arms of the goaltender for a 9-5 Marin lead.
Marin added three more goals from Hunter, weirs and McCartney in the fourth period for a comfortable 12-5 lead. The Mariners then settled back into a defensive stance to kill the clock. Foothill, with the odds against a successful comeback, still managed to close the gap in the final four minutes.
“This was a good matchup,” McCartney said. “They had a girl who gave us a hard time, but we played well.”
Sydney Nash led Foothill with three goals.
Story By Derek Wilson