Story by Marcus Tolero/Photo by Natalie Taylor

The City College of San Francisco Women's Water Polo Team lost 16-8 against the Merced College Blue Devils on Wednesday at Merced.

The Rams fell behind early in the match, and by the end of the second quarter the Blue Devils held a 12-2 lead.

"We were out of position on defense that first half, and that led to us being down 12-2 by the end of the half," Head Coach Phong Pham said. "But we picked it up in the second half."

The Rams' defense held the Blue Devils to four goals in the last two quarters and outscored their opponent six to four. Pham said the in-game adjustments were key in their improved second half.

"We were focused and we had better positioning in the water. The key was reacting and getting back on defense. We also had some pretty good passing on the counter attacks, and got some goals out of it," Pham said.

The Rams also leaned on their freshman goalkeeper Katy Granell who had eight saves on the day and started Rams' fast breaks with her outlet passes. Freshman Julia Lane led the Rams offense with three goals. 

Pham said if the team can carry over their strong second-half performance into their next game against De Anza College then they will be in a position to win.

The Rams travel to De Anza College today. Game time is 3:30 p.m.