Down two goals with just minutes remaining in the first half, the varsity girls’ water polo team was in need of some offense. After an errant pass from Justin-Siena, junior Kaitlyn Yang grabbed the loose ball and passed it ahead to fellow junior Caitlin Donnelly, who whipped the ball past the goalkeeper. Donnelly cut Justin-Siena’s lead to just one at the half and Redwood went into the break still confident in maintaining its undefeated record of 5-0.

However, this momentum fizzled out quickly as the Giants were not able to stir up enough offensive firepower in the second half to complete the comeback. Redwood suffered its first lost of the season, losing 10-8 on Wednesday, Oct. 5.

“We lost to Justin-Siena last year, so we really wanted to win against them this year. It’s rough,” Donnelly said.

The game began with a goal from Justin-Siena’s Elizabeth Hansen, which shook Redwood’s confidence.

By the second quarter, Redwood fought back with two goals from Donnelly and junior Ashley Lamar. Lamar scored after an assist by sophomore Makenzie Allen.

Sophomore Alex McGregor had three goals in the second half, but it was not enough for Redwood to win.

“We don’t have one standout. It takes the whole team really working together. They’re all contributing and it really is a team sport,” head coach Kirsten Frazer said.

Frazer said that working on fundamental skills such as making clean passes and making eye contact will be key for Redwood to improve in their next game.

According to Justin-Siena players, they were satisfied with their performance because it was a tough battle.

“ I knew it was going to be a good game and a very close call,” Justin-Siena player Teagan Bahlmer said. “Our coaches told us that this was going to be one of the hardest games of the season, plus Drake, and that we needed to be careful as this was an important game.”

Redwood plays next at Novato on Oct. 6.