By Anthony Lucido (@Lucido98) — Reporter
The San Jose State women’s water polo team saw back-to-back losses this weekend against Cal 12-5 and Pacific 8-7.
The Spartans started Saturday’s match against the Golden Bears cold, cloudy and bleak.
Cal is ranked No. 4 in women’s collegiate water polo in the nation and has dominated SJSU in the past.
This match was no different as the Golden Bears held a 5-0 lead well into the second period.
Despite the inevitable, the Spartans take this as an opportunity to learn and improve their skills.
Head coach of the SJSU women’s water polo team, Beth Harberts, said on Twitter, “Whenever we face a top ranked team, our team gets really excited and to see how we match up to them,” said SJSU head coach Beth Harbert on twitter.
The Spartans got a foothold thanks to Sophomore 2-meter attacker Ryan Lucchesi who scored two goals in the third period.
SJSU picked up three more goals in the fourth period but lost the game,12-5.
The next day the Spartans looked buoyant and animated as they faced a more comparable opponent, the Pacific Tigers.
SJSU has dominated Pacific in the past, however, the Tigers have improved dramatically in recent years proving to be on par with the Spartans.
The games against the two would often be decided with one point and that was the case for today.
Both teams were at a stalemate, tying 7-7 at the beginning of the fourth period.
By then, SJSU seemingly held an advantage over Pacific with a greater shooting percentage, more power plays and penalty shots.
With the clock winding down, the pool became saltier from the sweat of the player’s brows as they searched for an opening.
With four minutes left in the game, the Tigers steal the ball and make a quick turn around.
Pacific graduate student attacker Mariana Duarte let the ball whiz past SJSU into the net, scoring the final goal of the game 8-7.
Desperate to pass them or to go into overtime, the Spartans looked for openings in the final minutes but were held off by sharp-eyed Tigers, losing the game 8-7.
The Spartans return home against Santa Clara on Tuesday at 10 a.m. in the SRAC pool.