EHS Girls Water Polo Drop a Heartbreaker to Auburn Riverside 3-2

The Hornets put together a resounding  defensive effort and Megan Lesmeister did a spectacular job in goal on day two of the 2011 girls water polo state tournament against Auburn Riverside High School. However, Enumclaw did not generate enough offense as the Ravens knocked off the Hornets (16-9) 3-2 Friday afternoon at Rogers High School in Puyallup.

Enumclaw came to face Auburn Riverside for the right to continue through the 3rd/4th place consolation bracket after coming off a tough 9-8 opening round loss to Wilson on Wednesday.

"We have had a couple of rough games losing by a goal," Hornet head coach Bob Averill said. "We are glad to be here -- wish we could have done better."

Both teams came out early to set the tone for a hard-fought, defense-minded tussle where neither team wanting to give an inch to the other.

Auburn Riverside struck first as Malia Mason scored at the 6:04 mark of the second quarter to put the Ravens ahead 1-0.

Enumclaw struck back late in the second quarter as Hannah Kinniburgh broke free, taking advantage of rare open space in the contest and scored at the 1:13 mark to tie the game at 1 going into the halftime break.

One of the keys to the Hornets' performance on Friday was freshman goalie Lesmeister who stonewalled multiple Auburn Riverside scoring chances with great saves and deflections all across the goal area.

"I just tried to pay attention and keep my head in the game," Lesmeister said. "They challenged me with their side-to-side movement of the ball so I worked hard going to each side of the goal."

Averill was very excited about the freshman goalie's performance this afternoon and all season long.

"Megan has been amazing," he said. "We are excited to see what she'll do the next few years for us in goal."

The Ravens made a mini run in the third quarter scoring two goals from Payton Gray and Lauren Perala within a 1:21 span to stretch their lead to 3-1 by the end of the third quarter.

The Hornets, however, in spite of their tough day offensively were still well within striking distance as the fourth quarter got under away. Senior Ali Ballard got Enumclaw to within a goal at 3-2 with three minutes left, building on momentum gained from more offensive opportunities against the defense-minded Auburn Riverside squad.

The Hornets had a couple of final chances in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter but could not break through to tie the game and force overtime.

Averill commented on the offensive struggles: "I wish we could have generated more fouls, and we could have done better on our man-up opportunities."

With one game to go for Enumclaw, senior Alexis Firlotte and Lesmeister are very confident in their team's ability to bounce back and finish out the season against Puyallup on a high note.

"We have to keep our heads up," Firlotte said.

Lesmeister said, "We have to learn from the game today."

Firlotte on the season as a whole: "We have had an amazing season, especially with our team being so small."

Enumclaw will play Puyallup at 12:45 p.m. today in the 7th/8th place game in the 2011 Girls Water Polo State Tournament.

Auburn Riverside 0-1-2-0--3

Enumclaw             0-1-0-1--2

Auburn Riverside Goals: Malia Mason, Payton Gray, Lauren Perala

Enumclaw Goals: Hannah Kinniburgh, Ali Ballard