The Varsity Blues men's water polo team hit the road for the first time this season on Saturday afternoon (Oct 23). Coming off a resounding 20-5 victory at home to begin their 2021 campaign against the Western Mustangs, the Blues made the return to trip to London and secured a 23-4 win.
 
The 15-man gameday squad consisted of a high number of freshman and second-years, as well as seasoned U of T water polo heavyweights Bruno Marunica, Richard Laurie and captain Diego Gonzalez.
 
Marunica scored the first goal of the game within a minute. From then on, the game was a one-sided affair in which the Blues did not let their youth hinder them. James Glaser extended the lead to 2-0 just 30-seconds after Marunica's first, before fellow rookie Camilo Cortez joined the pair on the first quarter score sheet. However, the Mustangs would respond with a goal of their own late in the opening quarter.
 
Rather than build momentum for Western though, the late first quarter goal seemed to spark the Blues instead, who went on to score 18 unanswered goals across the next two and a half quarters, building themselves a 21-1 lead halfway through the fourth. It was at that point when the Blues began incorporating new tactics and younger players, resulting in a final score of 23-4.

Gonzalez led the Blues on the scoresheet with six goals, followed by Marunica and Laurie, who each had four. Freshmen Aiden Masters and James Glaser both tallied three goals, while Cortez, David Li and Luc Clark rounded out the Blues attack.

 "I think we played a good game," Gonzalez said. "We're a young team with tons of potential and I'm very excited to see what the rest of this season holds, and how we can improve even more in our games to come."
 
 UP NEXT: The Blues take on the McMaster Maruaders at home on Tuesday, October 26.

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