Marina Teaches El Dorado a Few Lessons in Shutout

The El Dorado girls’ water polo team, on the verge of breaking into the county’s top 10, found out Tuesday that it doesn’t yet have what it takes to compete with the best.

“We need to learn that there is another level of water polo out there and we aren’t there,” said El Dorado Coach David Wallace after Marina shut out the Hawks, 18-0.

“They have to realize that it’s in them, but they have to work hard to get to where they need to be.”

And the top-ranked Vikings (4-1) showed host El Dorado (3-2) exactly what it takes to be No. 1.

For example, on defense, Marina took the ball away 35 times, allowing only four El Dorado shots. Senior goalkeeper Candice Chick saved three of those shots. Chick also added two assists.

In addition, junior Lauren Muschetto, a driver, had five steals, two assists and one goal for the Vikings.

“If we didn’t have Muschetto, we wouldn’t be anywhere near as good as we are,” said Marina Coach Dave Carlson. “She’s a very big part of our defense. She may not score a lot of goals, but she racks up a lot of assists and steals.”

Carlson’s objective going into the game was to improve his team’s scoring. After a 2-0 loss to Santa Barbara, Carlson wanted the Vikings to concentrate on offense, knowing that his team’s defense was intact, with three goals being the most scored on the Vikings all season.

“Our defense is very, very good and good defense leads to offense,” Carlson said.

The extra time spent practicing paid off and the Vikings scored on 18 of their 28 shots.

Senior Jenny Lamb led the Vikings with eight goals, including four in the second quarter, when Marina scored eight times to take an 11-0 lead. Lamb, a junior national team member, also had nine steals.