Jack Orchard scored four of his game-high five goals in the third quarter and five players scored twice as Men’s Water Polo smashed visiting West Orange, 19-5. DP (4-0) broke a 1-1 tie with ten unanswered goals to improve to 3-0 in the Metro West Conference. The Panthers put four on the board in the first quarter with Ryan Staton finding the right corner of the goal, Evan Staton scoring on a skip shot from five meters, Jack Orchard’s lob into the left corner and Reed Davis’ one-timer off a beautiful pass from Orchard. The onslaught continued in the second quarter as Reed Davis again executed a perfect one-timer off a pass from Ryan Staton for a 5-1 lead at the 5:49 mark. Bruno Ferreira scored the first of his two goals off a rebound and David James fired a shot into the left corner to push the lead to 7-1. With 1:10 left to play , Ian Supra knocked one in off an Evan Staton pass and Ryan Staton capped the scoring with a five-meter goal with five seconds left in the half. Second half action saw DP explode for eight goals; four in under two minutes. With a man advantage, Evan Staton made West Orange pay with his second goal of the night and 28 seconds later, Jack Orchard’s sidearm skip shot found the back of the net for an 11-1 lead. Orchard came right back 33 seconds later. Backing his defender in, the senior turned and fired across the cage into the right corner to complete his hat trick. With 4:03 left in the third, Ryan Staton drove in from the right side and launched a perfect crossing pass to Charlie Barnett for a wide open goal to extend the lead to 13-2. After another goal by Orchard into the lower right corner, Ryan Staton lofted a pass up for Bruno Ferreira, who came waist high out of the water and slapped it home for a 15-2 lead with just over three minutes to go. Senior David James tacked on his second goal off a drive in from the right side and with three seconds left, Jack Orchard capped the third quarter with a blast from the point into the top right corner as the Panthers headed into the final quarter up 17-3. While the scoring may have waned in frequency in the fourth quarter, both DP goals were exceptional. With time running down on the shot clock, sophomore John Meisenheimer beat the buzzer with his third goal of the season and freshman Anshul Devnani punctuated the night with a high loft from the point that dropped in behind the goalkeeper perfectly for the final score. Reed Davis led DP with seven steals, Ryan Staton picked up five assists and Collin Brandt registered eight saves in goal.
On Thursday, 3/1. the top-ranked Panthers will now focus on the second-ranked Winter Park Wildcats Thursday night at the Aquatic Center. This game will feature the two top teams in Central Florida and perhaps two of the favorites to win the State Championship in Miami in April. The ladies will battle at 7:15 while the men are scheduled to go at 8:15. Tickets are just $5.00 at the door.
Women’s Water Polo improved to 4-0 with an 18-4 thrashing of West Orange. Senior Rachel Dytrych scored a game-high seven goals, Shannon MacNeil added four, while Katie Heffernan and Allie Magrino picked up three goals each. The Panthers jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back as they, too, are now 3-0 in Metro West play. Shannon MacNeil put DP on the scoreboard first with a five meter shot and Katie Heffernan doubled the lead just 35 seconds later. With 3:47 left, Rachel Dytrych scored her first goal but her second was the highlight. Dytrych got behind the defense, goalkeeper Mary Campbell sailed a deep pass down the middle of the pool and the senior swam in untouched and fired a perfect shot into the back of the net for a 4-0 lead. Just 33 seconds later, Dytrych would put DP up 5-0 with a put-back goal off a rebound for her third straight score. The second quarter saw the Panthers outscore the Warriors, 6-0, with two goals each scored by Heffernan, Dytrych and MacNeil. With 4:02 to go before the half, MacNeil drove in, pumped and fired a crossing shot into the right corner of the cage for an 8-1 advantage. Dytrych followed up with a lob over the goalie from the point and Heffernan closed out the half with a toss into the left corner as the Panthers swam into the break with an 11-1 lead. Third quarter action saw Shannon MacNeil open with another cross-cage goal inside the first minute and she followed up with a perfect pass to Rachel Dytrych for a one-timer to push the lead to 13-1. With 3:18 left in the third quarter, sophomore Allie Magrino found the back of the net from the point and freshman Jillian Goulden made it 15-1 with a driving goal into the left corner. After Rachel Dytrych closed out the quarter with her seventh goal of the night, Allie Magrino capped the barrage with a pair of goals in the fourth quarter; the first on a breakaway off a perfect pass from Heather MacNeil and the second, a turnaround shot into the top of the cage that stretched the lead to 18-1. Heather MacNeil led the Panthers with four assists and three steals while Mary Campbell was sensational in goal once again with five saves.
