With two minutes left in the game, weak flat Michael Grinstead swam past the defense, putting the ball in the back of the net for his seventh goal of the match-up, but it was not enough. On Friday, March 6, the boys water polo team lost to rivals Oviedo 18-13 in a conference match.

The team started out strong. Grinstead put the ball in the back of the net from close range to give the team a 1-0 lead with four minutes left in the first. Soon after, Grinstead found the goal again, forcing Oviedo to call a timeout.

After the timeout, Oviedo managed to tie the score after scoring twice from a few feet out. Before the period ended, both teams found the net again, and Grinstead scored two more goals, taking  the lead to 4-3 after the first.

In the second period, the boys team came out slow, unable to score early on in the period, allowing Oviedo to take a 6-4 lead, before senior Nathan Weaver eventually scored cutting the lead to 6-5. The boys team, however, struggled to keep pace in the second period, falling behind 8-6 into halftime.

During the third period, the boys defense allowed two quick early goals from close range, only two minutes into the third. Soon after, Grinstead scored his fifth goal of the game off of a fast break, cutting the lead down to three.. After another goal by Weaver, the boys defense allowed four more goals toward the end of the period falling behind 14-9 going into the final period.

“The team played very well offensively, but our defense needs to play better,” said Grinstead.

After the third period, both teams were scoring goals back and forth, including two more late goals by Grinstead, giving him seven goals for the game, and one more goal by Weaver, but the team fell short 18-13 at the end. The loss was disappointing and it continued a difficult start to the season.

“Some of our best players are out due to injury, so we have an even tougher season this year,” said Grinstead.

The boys team fell to 1-4 for the year and is 0-1 in conference play.

“This year we have a very young and new team, so we are inexperienced , but we are still playing well,” said Grinstead.