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Schools

Temescal Canyon Readies For CIF Road Ahead

"Our opponents are really good but we've been training, so we'll see what happens."

After capturing the Southern Section Sunbelt League title this season, Temescal Canyon High School’s Lady Titans water polo team took on the Murrieta Valley Nighthawks Saturday night in a practice match to ready for the CIF playoff road ahead.

Although the Titans lost 6-4, last night’s match offered an opportunity for both teams to strategize. Murrieta Valley is also looking for a CIF win after clinching its league title this season.

"I thought it was an important game to play just to get us into the mindset of playing a game of that tempo, that physical nature, right before the playoffs, because that's what the playoffs are going to be about,” explained Temescal Canyon head coach Damien Andrews. “If we're fortunate enough to make it into the semi-finals and maybe even finals again, we're going to have to be able to play the game just like that -- where it's going to be physical.

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“It's going to come down to the team that makes the fewest mistakes,” Andrews continued. “I thought Murrieta capitalized on our mistakes and I don't think that we did a good job of capitalizing on theirs."

Temescal Canyon’s Sammi Murphy scored one in the third period during last night's match, and she said this year’s team is balanced, both offensively and defensively.

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"I think we're really strong because most of us are coming back together and we've been working really hard as a team,” Murphy said. “Our opponents are really good but we've been training, so we'll see what happens.”

In addition to Murphy’s score, the Titans’ Ashtynn Nelson and Dannielle Wenzel each put one on the board during fourth-period play, and Taylor Johnson added one during the second period.

Nighthawks players who scored during Saturday's match included Kayla Fedler and Paige Virgil in first period play; Maddie Sanchez put up two points during the second period; and Megan Guerts added two in the third. --Toni McAllister contributed to this report.

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