Serra polo starts the season strong

What a difference a year makes. Or more accurately, what a difference a normal offseason makes.

Serra looked like a completely different team when the Padres hosted Half Moon Bay Wednesday evening. Looking confident and assured, the Padres went out an buried the Cougars, 21-2.

“I think we were really great,” said Serra’s Luca Paganucci, a senior hole set. “Overall, we played really well. I was proud of our team.”

Serra assistant coach Anthony Obester, who was filling in for head coach Andrew Silva who is with the U.S. junior national team at the junior world championships in Prague, said just getting back into a normal routine has paid benefits.

“We had a full summer (of preparation),” Obester said. “It’s good to see to output put in during the summer pay off during the season.”

Serra (2-0 overall) wasted little time in taking control of the match as Paganucci got inside position in the set on the Padres’ first possession of the game, took a pass from Alessandro Salerno and buried it less than 30 seconds into the match.

Paganucci drew an ejection on the Padres’ second possession to go on the man-advantage, with David Robertson scoring from the perimeter for a 2-0 lead. Salerno and Paganucci hooked up again, this time with Paganucci feeding Salerno for a 3-0 Serra lead.

In all, the Padres scored on their first five shots of the game as they took a 6-0 lead after the opening period.

Half Moon Bay opened the scoring in the second period, with Jacob Goldshin scoring from the left wing. But Serra responded with three unanswered goals to take a 9-1 lead at halftime.

Serra scored six more times in the third period and six more in the fourth for the final margin of victory. Dedon Prince Jr. added Half Moon Bay’s second goal in the final period.

In all, 10 Serra players scored goals, led by Robertson, who finished with six goals. Mohamed El-Badry scored three of his five goals in the third period, while Salerno notched a hat trick. Travis Murphy, Daniel Finucane, Carson Baldi and Fabrice Gradidge each scored two goals.

Paganucci had a goal, two assists and drew a pair of ejections in the first period.

Paganucci attributed his team’s strong play to the simple fact that they had the time to better understand how each plays.

“We were able to get together (over the summer). Lot of us played club together,” Paganucci said. “We had access to the weight room, which we didn’t have during the COVID season.”

The result was the second straight lopsided win for the Padres, who opened the season with a 19-6 win over Hillsdale last week. They continued their strong play Wednesday.

“I think these kids are amped to have a season they can trust,” Obester said. “The seniors are hyped right now. … It just feels better and it just feels right.”

And after a spring season in which success was hard to come by, the Padres are certainly enjoying their early-season domination.

“It builds morale,” Obester said. “You get an opportunity to play kids who don’t get to play a lot.”

The Padres certainly need all the confidence they can get as they head into their West Catholic Athletic League opener next week against Menlo School. While the WCAL presents the toughest competition in the Central Coast Section, the Padres are up for the challenge.

“This season our goal is to win some league games and get to CCS,” Paganucci said.