Turlock High girls water polo coach Sonja Raynes understood the magnitude of her team’s win on Thursday night, as she took a look around her. This was rare — all the fans present around the bright lights reflecting off the water — for a water polo match.
But this was Pitman versus Turlock, and the third-year coach felt the impact her squad made not just on this night, where hundreds of supporters showed up, but also on the short history of the cross-town rivalry. For the first time since 2004, the Bulldogs triumphed, this time a 13-4 thumping over a young squad in the Pride.
“A win with the crowd is a plus,” Raynes said. “A win with the crowd over your cross-town rival is a plus-plus. And then a win with the crowd over your cross-town rival and actually playing well.”
By the end of the night, the Bulldogs improved to 4-1 in the Central California Conference while the Pride go into next week still searching for a league win at 0-5.
It was all Turlock from the very start, thanks mostly to offensive threat Madeline Keesey. The sophomore scored seven goals, as she did most of her damage in the first two periods. The Bulldogs had a 7-2 halftime advantage, with Keesey putting in five scores by then.
Keesey received some support from Jacy Gutafson, who had three goals. Teammate Melinda Johnson added two, and Haley Raynes added one.
“We felt like we really worked together as a team and we looked at the whole pool, not just certain areas of the pool,” Gutafson said.
Pitman’s two goals came in the second period, with Kristen Arnold and Sierra Perry sharing one each.
“Our girls made minor improvements on the way we played offense and defense,” Pitman coach Anne Cornell said. “We’re actually really proud from what we come from.”
To contact Chhun Sun, e-mail csun@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.