SAN MARCOS – Palomar men’s water polo took to the pool on Oct 9, defeating Southwestern College by a final score of 21–12.
Prior to the match, Palomar competed in four tournaments against several top-tier schools outside of their conference. The Oct. 9 matchup with Southwestern College marked the start of the regular season for the Comets.
Heading into his fourth season as the head coach Michael Mulvey said, “We really want to be locked in tight on our rotations when we get into conference games. The tournament games give our guys a chance to develop and show who is going to be in the rotation.”
Following a 2023 season that saw the Comets become conference champions, this first matchup came with a lot of expectations for the home squad.
Southwestern jumped ahead early in the first quarter with a goal in the first minutes of the match. Palomar responded with two quick goals of their own from attackers Phoenix Shultz and Ian Ritchie.
Despite great opportunities to score, including an ill-fated penalty shot, the Comets went the remainder of the quarter without another goal and surrendered three more to their opponents. However, the Comets went into the second quarter on a high note with a brilliant save from goalkeeper Wyatt Borchard at point-blank range.
Palomar must have taken the low score personally because they came out firing in the second quarter with three straight goals: two from Caleb Hogle and the third by Collin O’Neill. Things settled down afterward with only one other goal from the home team by Jack Fritz. The Comets also gave up a couple of points to Southwestern, ending the first half tied at 6-6.
“We had a lot of chances in the first quarter and the second quarter. And the message is we just need to finish those chances,” said Coach Mulvey.
Among the fans who came to support the men was the Palomar women’s water polo team. The women won in their match against Southwestern just prior to the men’s game and their energy was felt in each cheer for their fellow Comet athletes.
After switching sides to start the second half, the Comets went on the heavy offensive, winning the opening sprint for possession and scoring in the first 30 seconds. Hogle claimed that point after a power shot from O’Neill ricocheted off the crossbar right into his hand. Hogle went on to score two more times in that third quarter.
The sun was getting lower, and Palomar took advantage of the light obstructing the vision of Southwestern’s goalkeeper. Palomar scored nine goals in the third quarter, and though their offense was undeniably impressive, the defensive side also shone through. Huge blocks from Brayden Bender and Borchard held a deflating Southwestern offense to only three points.
Palomar took a 15-9 lead into the fourth quarter and continued their barrage. A clearly exhausted Southwestern College resided to tread water instead of participating in the opening sprint. This enabled O’Neill to fire a shot past the outstretched arms of the opposing goalie after a mere 15 seconds of play.
A solid balance of offense and defense led the Comets to outscore the Jaguars 6-3 in the last quarter. When the whistle sounded, Palomar had a comfortable margin of victory with a final score of 21-12.
Caleb Hogle led the team with six goals, which he attributed to the team’s efforts and not just his own. “We had to make an attitude adjustment and match their pace. We made strategical changes on where we wanted to shoot based on what was working and what wasn’t,” Hogle responded when asked about the team’s turnaround in the second half.
“The championship last season felt like the culmination of the hard work the team put in for two years. We had a disappointing season in 2022 when we lost to Southwestern in the semifinals. Winning the championship again is our goal this season,” Coach Mulvey commented.
This win gave the Palomar men’s water polo team a 1-0 record in conference play; the perfect start to achieve their goal of being repeat champions.
The Comets’ next conference game will be on Oct 16 at Grossmont college.
For schedule information click here.
