Charles Rich
FLINTRIDGE PREP -- The ball looked like it had been released from a
sling Monday.
It departed from the right hand of Flintridge Prep girls' water polo
player Miriam Anthony near the center of the pool and landed in the cage.
Perhaps a defining moment for Anthony, her mind still engrossing from
last season's one-goal loss to California Academy of Math and Sciences,
which denied the Rebels a postseason bid.
Anthony scored three goals Monday to lead Flintridge Prep to an 8-6
victory against CAMS in a Prep League match at Flintridge Prep. The
Rebels (15-3, 7-0 in league) enjoy the upper hand in the league
standings, and the prospect for the program's first-ever league
championship took another step toward being sewn up.
The senior two-meter defender scored twice in the fourth quarter,
which featured several momentum swings.
"Sometimes I take some stupid shots," Anthony said. "I thought I had
nothing to lose this time because sometimes the goalkeeper is unprepared
for shots like that. You always have to be watching out for their
weaknesses."
Anthony briefly studied the motion of CAMS goalkeeper Lizette Gomez,
who was tilted in one direction, and fired an accurate shot midway
through the fourth quarter to give the Rebels a 6-5 lead.
Anthony's goal came moments after CAMS (5-4, 3-3 in league) rallied
from a pair of fourth-quarter deficits. She didn't want to witness a
third comeback.
"One thing was that I was mad that they kept catching up," Anthony
said. "CAMS has always been good in coming back. We slacked off a bit in
the fourth quarter.
"There's still a lot of bitterness from the loss to CAMS last year.
They are not a fun team to play, but they are fun to beat."
The Rebels won both meetings with CAMS this season, including a 6-3
victory Dec. 8 at CAMS.
Flintridge Prep received three goals from Amy Thomas, who applied an
ice pack to her right eye after a scrum with a CAMS player in the third
quarter. Briana Butler added two goals for the Rebels, who will next play
a league match against Vivian Webb at 3:15 p.m. today.
Flintridge Prep's attacking offense covered up several rare defensive
deficiencies.
"I don't know what happened to us defensively in the fourth quarter,"
Flintridge Prep Coach Stephanie Stephens said. "The trend is to get
confident being ahead. Our team doesn't get too excited, and maybe it was
a case of us just getting our second wind during that part of the match."
Thomas scored the Rebels' first two goals late in the first quarter to
make it, 2-1. She completed her hat trick with a four-meter shot early in
the fourth quarter to give the Rebels a 5-4 lead.
