This past week’s slate of games gave the Coronado Islanders Boys Water Polo team the opportunity to rack up some much-needed wins.

With games against Bonita Vista, Cathedral Catholic, Mar Vista, and Ramona, it felt like the type of week where the Islanders needed to go 3-1 or 4-0. While Coronado was unable to secure the 4-0 week, they were able to go 3-1 with commanding wins over Bonita Vista, Mar Vista, and Ramona.

“I think it was a good week for our guys,” said Islanders Coach Jesse Smith, “They played relaxed and confident Water Polo for much of the week. I was really excited by what I saw from some of our younger guys, as well as our established varsity players.”

In their first game of the week, Coronado rout Mar Vista by the final score of 26-11, which was by far their largest goal or offensive output of the season.

Luca Morocco and Ryan Mondzelewski would lead the way offensively for the Islanders, with Coronado’s Center Russell Richardson also continuing to see improvements. The sophomore would connect on a pair of five-meter goals and score a goal on a set play.

Following the win, Coronado would have a Western League showdown against Cathedral. While the Islanders would fall short to the Dons by the final of 15-6, their play was much more competitive than their match-ups from last season.

“I felt like we played them tighter than last season,” noted Smith, “I think we’re closer to where we wanna be against Western League teams. The results against those league teams are not where we want them to be, but we are improving at a good rate. So I am very optimistic right now.”

Following the Loss to Cathedral, Coronado quickly would rebound with a win against Bonita Vista. Then on Monday Coronado would put together perhaps its best showing of the year by crushing Ramona by the final of 23-3.

Jack Elardo and Connor Gray would shine at both ends of the pool but set the tone partially well with their defensive play. Brandon Waterlander would also step up defensively in the win against Ramona.

Meanwhile, on offense, Coronado would get a bit of an unexpected lift off the bench as Manny Ojeda collected three goals in the win against Ramona.

“I think Luca Morocco and Ryan Mondzelewski did a great job of leading and helping us execute our game plan and help some of the less experienced players to execute.” said Smith, “Then Manny, who has not gotten a lot of minutes, scored three goals which was super cool to see.”

The 3-1 week is a step in the right direction for this Islanders team. Still, with the loss to Cathedral, the Islanders continue to search for their first Western League win in over a year.

Fortunately, they will still have three more shots this season to break that drought, including an opportunity this week with a match-up against La Jolla. The Islanders game v. La Jolla will be played on Oct 16th, Per MaxPreps.