In an extremely well-played, strategic game, Westwood emerged victorious over the Cedar Ridge Raiders on Tuesday Sept. 23, at the RRISD Aquatic Center. It was a constant battle to stay in the lead, but the Warriors rose to the challenge, helping to secure a high district seed and putting an end to Cedar Ridge’s undefeated season. The game ended with a final score of 10-9

Westwood set the tone early in the game, with Caden Bradford ‘26 scoring the first goal off a five-meter penalty shot early in the first period. Cedar Ridge was quick to respond, weaving through the Warrior defense to score a point of their own and bringing the score to an even 1-1. Bradford continued his momentum, scoring another goal for the Warriors with a strong, well placed shot into the Raider’s goal. However, Cedar Ridge retaliated shortly thereafter, scoring another goal of their own. With only seconds left in the first period, Bradford returned to score his third goal of the night, ending the period and giving the Warriors a one point lead, 3-2. 

“It was a huge program win,” Coach Matt McBrearty said. “We needed that bad and ruined a perfect season for Cedar Ridge, so it was awesome.”

The start of the second period saw Westwood eager to maintain their edge, fighting through Raider defense and scoring another goal to bring the score to 4-2. However, Cedar Ridge had found their stride early in the second period, scoring two goals in quick succession that evened the score. Westwood called a timeout to regroup, and when the period resumed Jean Castel ‘29 was able to assist Ethan Clarke ‘26 to score a goal. However, the celebration was short lived as Warrior defense began to crumble, allowing Cedar Ridge the opening to score twice more in the period, ending in a final score of 6-5, with Cedar Ridge in the lead. However, Westwood’s offense and defense regrouped to create clear harmony, and the team was exhibiting extremely clean plays. 

“Maybe for the first time ever it just clicked,” Coach McBrearty said. “We’ve been trying to avoid turnovers, avoid letting them get counters, and really find ways to score outside of just a set offense, and we did.”

Cedar Ridge was able to start the third period by scoring another goal, putting the score at 7-5. Westwood called their second timeout of the night to strategize on how to best shut down the opposing team’s flowing offense. When the period resumed, Castel was able to score for Westwood, quickly followed by another point for the Warriors that was scored by Marek Browaski ‘27. Cedar Ridge called a timeout, beginning to fall victim to the Warriors sharp shooting,  but when the game resumed they were unable to score on the Warriors and the period ended in a tie, 7-7. 

“Especially in a game this close, it’s just a crazy feeling to have a part in a goal or score a goal against someone that you lost to 11-4 maybe two weeks ago,” Castel said. “It’s a great feeling.”

Cedar Ridge opened the fourth period by scoring the first point of the period. Following this,Westwood called their third timeout of the night in an attempt to reassess their defensive strategy. Yet again, the time to strategize and adapt gave the Warriors the edge, and Bradford was able to score with assistance on the rebound from Jett Henson ‘28. Westwood was able to score again shortly thereafter, bringing the score to 9-8 and giving Westwood their first lead since the first period. However, the Raiders were eager to even the score, and did so, scoring and bringing the score to 9-9. After a taught tit-for-tat between the two teams’ defensive lines, with each one blocking the other’s shots, Browaski was able to score in the last 14 seconds of the game, bringing the score to 10-9 and winning the game for the Warriors. 

“The way I led up to it is that I had the motivation from everybody on my team,” Browaski said. “I might have the motivation in myself, but all of that is just completely crumbled if you don’t have the love and if you don’t have the support. The thing about our team is that while we’re not all relatives, while we’re not all brothers and sisters, we’re still one big family. And to know that I had the power of my second family on my side, that’s what carried me. It wasn’t me, it was the love from everybody else.”

With their season nearly two-thirds of the way through, this game signified an important confidence gain for the Warriors. Cedar Ridge had a nearly perfect season prior to this game, even beating Westwood mere weeks ago. The Warriors pulling out this win has very important consequences for the overall team mentality. 

“We feel like we are at the top of the world, but we gotta keep our expectations in check because there’s much better teams out there,” Browaski said. “But we definitely feel like that we have the passion and the power to stand toe-to-toe with maybe not every team, but most of the teams that we’re going to come across if we love one another, if we care about one another, and if we don’t put one another down.”

Boys Water Polo will take on Waco Midway on Sept. 26 at the Waco YMCA.