From Friday, Sept. 6 to Saturday, Sept. 7, the Warriors played four games in the Ridgewood Rumble Tournament to advance further into the season and inch closer to the playoffs.
To start the tournament, the Warriors won their first game against the Canyon Lake Hawks 13-5 in a quick and simple match that warmed them up for the rest of the tournament. A true MVP who stood out against the Hawks was Captain Cole Osborn ‘25 — he kept the Hawks to less than half of the Warrior’s points throughout the whole game with his ‘brick wall offense’ and shutout playstyle. Additionally, Westwood maintained their lead, putting up 13 points, due to quick and aggressive offensive plays that never gave Canyon Lake a second to think.
“Austin High really gave us a great game,” Ben Meijers ‘25 said. “However, I do feel that we just didn’t play our best, and that is what ended up losing us the game.”
Next came a tough rematch against the Austin High Maroons to end of the first day of the tournament. Last year, the Warriors beat the Maroons 14-7 in the first round of the UIL state championship games, so both schools came with something to prove. It was evident that each team was evenly matched as both teams took their time and wisely picked their battles to try and find holes in their opponent’s defense; the Warriors most importantly focused on passing up and down the pool to try and catch the Maroon goalkeeper off guard. Moreover, the Westwood defense seemed like they had something to prove with each player fighting tooth and nail to prevent any points at any cost. However, the game ended with the Maroons up 9-7 giving Westwood their first loss of the tournament.
To start the first game of the final day, the Warriors took the pool by storm rocking the Midway Panthers 12-6 with overwhelming force after their loss to Austin High. Westwood played Midway like any other team through complex team play and more ‘brick wall’ defense by Osborn to put Westwood 10-5 on the season, proving their might on the eve of district play.
“None of the tournament was really scary for us,” Coach Matthew McBrearty said. “We just made sure each and everything was set in place for us to play and we did what we came to do.”
Finally, the Warriors were up to go against the Westlake Chaparrals, the team to beat. Westwood and Westlake have a history: not only have are the Chaparrals unbeaten by the Warriors but they also were eliminated by Westlake in the 2023 UIL State Championship games, ending Westwood’s near-perfect season to a 12-9 loss in the third round.
“Before the game, the Westwood sideline could hear what Westlake was saying, and none of it was good,” Sawyer Grimaldi ‘25 said. “They were talking about how they were confident they would beat us, however, I really think we will give them a great game.”
The game started quickly with three back-to-back goals by Westlake to instantly put Westwood behind 3-0 halfway through the first quarter. But this did not discourage the Warriors as they soon took control of the game, starting off with a close five-meter penalty shot to give the Warriors their first point. Retaking the pool for the second quarter, their head of steam did not dissipate as both the defense and offense played to their full ability with a league of blocks from Osborn and three more points in the first moments of the second quarter, putting the Warriors up 4-3 in a once losing game. However, soon Westlake started to make their stands with a physical defense that forced turnovers and ran down the clock, keeping the Warriors from scoring again. With this increased possession, the Chaparrals also tied up the game after a close shot on the goal after a fast breakaway.
The game’s final half was a boat race to see who could reach the end the fastest. Soon, Westlake, assisted by uncalled penalties, scored two more back-to-back shots near the end of the quarter, making the game 6-4 after four minutes of stalwart defense from the Warriors. Soon the Chaparrals were down a player after a penalty call while on defense, so Westwood had to capitalize. And they did. After many defense-befuddling passes, Jett Henson ‘28 jammed the ball into the goal, ending the quarter 6-5. But soon after the quarter break, the Chapparals made the game 7-5, nearly putting it out of reach for the Warriors with five minutes left in the game. But this did not get them down. They went to work defending by taking huge chunks of the pool under their control, soon finding a foothold tying the game at 7-7. This energy soon played out as Westlake outplayed the Warriors with speed and missed penalties that soon made the game 9-7 after the Chaparrals shut down Westwood.
“Against the Chaparrals, I feel the team as a whole played the very best we could,” Meijers said. “Despite losing the game, I do feel really good about it since we really played our best.”
The Warriors will play the Cedar Ridge Raiders at the Cedar Ridge Natatorium on Tuesday, Sept. 10 for their second district game of the season.
