On November 3, 2025, the San Dimas girls water polo team fiercely faced the Glendora Spartans in their home pool. With many previous intense games, the rivalry between the two teams was close. The Saints, fresh from their Division 4 CIF Championship, worked hard in the pool to keep their winning streak to start the season.
As the Saints entered the pool, nerves were high, but the team stayed focused. With the stands full, they kicked off the game with junior captain Carla Armale winning the sprint. Soon, the Tartans stole the ball and scored the first goal of the game. Minutes later, the Tartans scored another goal. Despite losing their advantage point, the Saints did not take this as a defeat and quickly scored their first goal from senior captain Bella Marroquin as she finished with a goal with eighteen seconds left on the clock. The Saints played hard to stand their ground through the quarter; it was neck and neck with both teams fighting tirelessly.
In the second quarter, the Tartans widened the gap as they scored two goals, making the score at the end of the quarter four to one. Despite the score being more than doubled, the Saints entered the pool fired up with a pep talk from Coach Jesse. Minutes later, Marroquin struck the net with another goal, after senior captain Faith Kearns found the cage 
towards the end of the quarter. The Tartans scored another goal following Kearns’ goal. With the quarter ending, the Saints closed the space and made the game extremely close.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Marroquin came out and scored another point for the Saints, making the score five to four. Only being down by one, Armale tied the game with a seamless shot. For the rest of the last quarter, the Saints and Tartans went head to head as the score was continuously creeping up with either team scoring a goal and tying it At the end of the quarter, with the score being six to seven, Marroquin once again evened the score with a minute left on the clock, leaving the teams to go into a overtime.
Going into overtime, the atmosphere was heated and intense. The crowd was on the edge of their seats, waiting to see who would bring it home. With two quarters left, both teams had to give it their all in the pool to pull the score in their favor. Kearns scored the first goal, making the score eight to seven. Soon after, the Tartans evened the score. At the beginning of the final quarter, the Tartans took the lead with another score, but the junior Isla Carver fired the ball into the net with little over a minute left on the clock. After a quick intermission, the Saints came back out to fight for another goal, but the Tartans beat them to it, scoring the game-winning goal, making the final score ten to eleven.
Despite the Saints losing, it was an intense and well-played game. “We’ve always had a bit of a rivalry with Glendora, so we know the game would be challenging,” Captain Armale described. She continued to describe the GRIT the Saints displayed in the pool as she recapped, “It was a close, high-energy game, although we didn’t win, we played with determination, and it gives me a lot of confidence in what this team can accomplish as the season goes on.” The Saints proudly demonstrated what it means to be a team, never to give up, and play their hardest, and with this being one of their first games, it is exciting to see what they can build with the rest of the season.
