On a cold and drizzly Saturday night, The Bishop’s School girls water polo team defeated La Jolla High School (LJHS) 10-6 to win the Division 3 CIF championship. “We played great defense,” said Knights’ head coach Doug Peabody. “It’s nice to be back on top.” The Coggan Aquatic Complex was filled with enthusiastic fans who came out to see the cross-town rivals compete for the title. For LJHS, the game marked the team’s first appearance in the championship round. Despite the loss, Viking head coach Dante Laghetto and his troops were proud of their team’s unprecedented playoff run. “I think the girls are happy to show to the community that has been supporting them for many years that they are able to compete against the best team,” Laghetto said. “They didn’t ever give up.” Kaylee Kastrup gave the Knights a 2-0 lead when she found the back of the net with two minutes and 30 seconds left in the first period. LJHS senior Christina Kirby cut the deficit in half when she knocked in a rebound to make it 2-1. Bishop’s regained its two-goal advantage when sophomore Jessie Webster skipped a shot into the net with no time left on the clock to end the first period. “I knew that we needed one more bucket (before the end of the period),” Webster said. “I looked at the clock and there were three seconds left and Gabby [Stone] passed me the ball. It was perfect and I just dunked it.” Webster carried her strong play into the second period, scoring two more goals to give her team a commanding 5-1 lead. Senior Meagan Moreland answered for the Vikings when she scored to cut the deficit to 5-2 but Bishop’s quickly responded. Kastrup scored just seconds before halftime giving the Knights a 7-2 lead heading into the break. “Our big thing was being a team,” Kastrup said. “We didn’t fight; we didn’t bicker; we just came at them. We knew what we wanted and we got it.” Two quick Bishop’s scores to start the third period gave the Knights a seemingly insurmountable 9-2 lead. But LJHS refused to go quietly. Kirby notched the Vikings third goal and Ariel Arcidiacon scored the team’s fourth. Late goals from Kirby and Moreland made it 10-6, proving that LJHS is a team on the rise. “We’re definitely really proud of ourselves,” Kirby said. “Our goal was to make it to the finals. We would have loved to win, but I’m really proud of how we did as a team this entire season.” Bishop’s goalkeeper Gabby Stone was rock solid in net, posting 13 saves. Freshman goalie Lauren Silver came off the bench to play the second half for La Jolla and made several big saves, including a terrific stop on a one-on-one chance in the dying seconds of the game.