It can’t be easy to be a losing team. In every athlete, indeed every person, there’s a competitive drive that makes us want to be better than our opponents. This is not always an easy task. It’s even more difficult for rookie teams to succeed, as the women’s water polo team demonstrated last Wednesday night in a 9-1 loss to division leader and defending OUA champions McMaster University.

Admittedly, no loss will look like a good game, but head coach John Godoy insists it’s not all bad.

“What we need to look for this season is a game-over-game improvement,” he said. “Chances are, we are not going to make the playoffs this year, but if we continue to improve as we have been, next season looks very promising.”

There were some real signs of improvement in the team’s play on Wednesday. Although having nine goals scored against can hardly be called a defensive triumph, the team’s defence did actually seem strong, managing to hold off numerous McMaster rushes. Another positive was the discipline the team showed. In the face of defeat, teams often sink to sporadic and poorly planned play. The water polo team managed to overcome the temptation to slide into chaos and played a disciplined game throughout.

In fact, the growing cohesion of the team is becoming more obvious as the season continues. More communication is leading to fewer turnovers and fewer careless errors are being made.

“We are really coming together as a team,” said Margaritha St. John, a starting player. “We’re executing our plays more fluidly and our communication has consistently improved.”

Despite improvements in their defensive play, the team’s offence still struggles. The single goal the Blues managed was scored in the final minutes of play in what can only be described as desperation.

Nevertheless, Wednesday’s game was a major improvement for the team, who lost their last match against McMaster 16-3. And the range of ability within the division is such that Godoy is confident his team will win their games in the upcoming weeks versus Carleton and Queen’s Universities.

“The team played the game that I asked them to,” explained Godoy. “Sure, that did not translate into a win, but our defence was good, and we played a disciplined and tough game. This will mean wins in the future.”

U of T is presently last in its OUA division, recording seven losses in as many matches.