Oviedo High School’s (OHS) boys water polo played Lyman High School this Wednesday at their season opener. 

The Lions defeated Lyman, ending the game at 23-12. With eight goals from senior Andrew LeClair, the Lions were in the lead for a majority of the match. 

After last year’s season with just ten players, this 2022 season is the team’s first season back with a full roster of 16 players. Due to the half virtual school year and losing senior players last year, the team was much smaller than usual, posing challenges throughout the season.  

But this time, the boys have a secret weapon- Italian exchange student Vincenzo Micciche. Micciche came to Oviedo through the exchange program, and played water polo for nine years in Italy. 

“I played water polo for like nine years and in Italy I played for a club because we don’t have a high school water polo team,” said Micciche. “I wanted to discover a new, different culture and I have always liked the United States.”

According to Micciche, he was looking for a country where he could play polo and eventually continue to play in college.

“Water polo is not the main reason but I was trying to go in a place where I could have played water polo,” said Micciche. “I would like to play in college here in the United States but I am still deciding.” 

Due to Micciche’s years of experience in the sport, he is a valuable addition to the team and has high hopes for the season. 

“I think I just added the right motivation and mentality to be a very good team,” said Micciche. “We are a very good team and we can do very well this year.”

Senior swimmer Andrew Christensen is also new to the team this year. Christensen provides a speed and shooting advantage for the Lions, as he is left handed and a swimmer. 

“A lot of my friends were doing polo which encouraged me to play my senior year,” said Christensen. “As my first year, I don’t know what to expect for this season but I do know my teammates have high hopes for each other, making all of us shoot high to win states. 

Similarly, senior players Ben and Andrew LeClair recently transferred to OHS from Hagerty High School. Both are starters for the Lions, scoring ten goals combined at the opener. Although the LeClairs mainly transferred to OHS for the academics, joining the Lion’s water polo team was another factor in their switch. 

“With my brother and I transferring from Hagerty this year we are able to have a more diverse team and help add our skills and knowledge of the sport to aid this upcoming team and hopefully make it to states this year,” said A. LeClair. 

Both Chistensen and LeClair are hopeful that the team will improve throughout the season, and eventually make it to the state championship. 

“The game went pretty well especially for the new players on the team,” said A. LeClair. “There were definitely some things we still need to work on, but the game was able to help us establish a base to work off of for future games.”