With a tough blow to their season, the Boy’s Water Polo team went up against the Round Rock Dragons in their second district game on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at the RRISD Aquatic Center. The team fought hard, but ultimately came up short with a final score of 11-3. 

The Warriors had faced Round Rock before in a pre-season scrimmage and came out victorious, but tonight brought new challenges. The team came out strong, with Jett Henson ‘28 scoring in the first period to give Westwood confidence at the start of the game. The Warriors brought strong offensive tactics, but were unable to defend against Round Rock’s advances. The period ended with a score of 3-1, with Round Rock in the lead. 

“[In practice] continuing forward, we’re going to work on our defense, work on dropping on the center, and making sure that we’re always covering someone,” Captain Ethan Clark ‘26 said. 

The second period brought many obstacles for the Warriors, beginning early with a five-meter penalty shot that resulted in Round Rock advancing their lead quickly. Clark, the team’s goalie, was able to block many shots, racking up 16 total saves over the course of the game. However, Round Rock was able to extend their lead by two more points over the course of the second period. The Dragons finished the period with five points while Westwood still only had one. 

“It’s a very disappointing loss,” Clark said. “It sets us back in terms of districts, but we have a lot to improve on.”

In the third period, despite continuing to stay aggressive across the pool, the Warriors were still unable to score. Clark continued to diligently defend the team’s goal, but Round Rock still managed to stretch their lead to seven, and ended the period with eight total points.

“I thought that we were in it early,” Coach Matt McBrearty said. “I thought that we really kind of lost our heads in the second

quarter and some of the third, and then all of a sudden we were fighting again. So, I liked the parts where we were fighting, but, you know, it was tough.”

The Warriors were able to regain some of their offensive prowess in the fourth period by setting up plays and driving hard to goal. Finally able to find their groove, Caden Bradford ‘26 scored two goals for Westwood that brought the team’s total score up to three points. However, the Warriors renewed vigor was not enough to earn a victory, and the game ended with Round Rock taking the win 11-3. 

“I felt that morale was low at some moments, but we brought it back towards the end and kept fighting,” said Asher Montgomery ‘29. 

With this being the second district game of the season, tonight’s loss puts the team in a tough spot going forward. If they want to reach the same heights they’ve had in past years, they’re  going to need to emerge victorious in future matches. 

“[Tonight’s game was] huge,” Coach McBrearty said. “I think our goal is certainly always to win a district title, but also just finish top two for playoff seatings. And so right now, we’re in a hole. I think we have a good team, but we’re young, so we’ll see.”