(WSB photos by Tracy Burrows. Above, WSHS’s Iris Christian)

By Tracy Burrows
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Friday night, the West Seattle High School girls’ water-polo team made history, playing in the first-ever high school water polo match at Colman Pool.

The girls won a thrilling match against Bellevue High School by a score of 9-8. The Wildcats led for much of the game, led by outstanding goalie play by Matty Ogle (above) and great passing work that opened up effective shots.

In the fourth quarter, Bellevue came storming back, tying the game 8-8 on a penalty shot. With 1 minute left, West Seattle’s Marlo Pietch (above) rocketed a shot into the goal and the team hung on to win, 9-8.

The West Seattle team is now tied for first place in their district — an outstanding achievement for this new sport at the school. After the game, Coach Steve MacKinnon said he was super proud of all the girls who played in this historic match. He noted that water polo’s popularity is growing. “That’s especially exciting for girls’ water polo, which hasn’t traditionally gotten as much attention,” he said.

The Junior Varsity team also won their game by a score of 7-4 against the Bellevue squad, powered by a flurry of scoring in the 4th quarter.