Women’s water polo concluded their tremendous 26-7 season with a loss in the Western State Conference Championship Finals. One of the leaders of the team, sophomore utility Samantha Godinho, 20, said a key reason for the team’s success is because of the motto they live by known as, “Make it count.”
“You can always do things and go through the motions and you won’t get anywhere,” Godinho said. “But if you make something count, it actually means something and it can actually push you to be where you want to be and not just be wasting your time.”
This is Godinho’s third year at Citrus and she has committed herself to this motto. She said she is someone who “is there for everyone and will put everyone before herself but also works to be her best self in every aspect she can.”
Kortney Molle, a teammate and close friend, said Godinho connects and helps with a lot of people, and goes over and beyond for any of her teammates.
“If we’re going out to eat, and someone doesn’t have money, she’s always there. She’ll pay for them and want nothing in return.”
Coach Jennifer Spalding said everyone calls Godinho “mama Sam” because she takes care of everybody.
“When we go away for our tournaments, me and my other coach bring protein shakes, chocolate milk, and string cheese. Sam will make sure everybody else is fed before she actually eats. She is always the last one in the pool because she is making sure everyone else is good before. And she gets the team to study. So she sort of plans study dates and gets all the girls to come along. It’s fantastic.”
Coach Spalding says she knew Samantha before she played for her here at Citrus. Godinho’s sister played for her at Chaffey College years prior.
Coach Spalding and Kortney Molle both mentioned Godinho’s positive and vocal ability in game is key to the team’s success.
“She’s very self aware,” Spalding said. “She’s aware of situations so I can put her in, in crucial times that’s very pivotal in the game. She’s that voice in the water that we need. You need that one or two people to really step up and lead and communicate to your team. She’s that person for our team. Without her, we wouldn’t be as successful as we are.”
“Even if she’s on the bench, she’s cheering on her teammates, talking to other people, and making sure they know what’s going on in the game,” Kortney said.
Aside from water polo, Godinho has a passion for biology and wants to pursue a career in the medical field. She said she hopes her hard work in school pays off so one day she can work in a hospital.
Godinho works on weekends at a wedding venue and a swim school. She is a manager at the wedding venue where she runs ceremonies. When she isn’t at work, school or playing water polo, Godinho said she loves to be with her friends and family because she does not get to see them often with her busy schedule.
To reach her goals in water polo and the future, Godinho said self motivation is important. She said she always wants to try to be a better self.
Godinho said her family has an influence on her because they have the drive to get things done and the attitude to never give up. Godinho’s mother has gone through hip surgeries all of her life, as she was born with dislocated hips, but continues to keep going. Her father has back problems but still continues to work. Her sister even had problems with schooling, but she worked hard and is in nursing school.
Godinho said her life-changing moment was during high school when three of her grandparents died in one year.
“That was really hard but it showed me that you just have to keep living life,” Godinho said. “You can’t stop for certain things, because you never know when you’re not going to be here anymore. Basically, enjoy life while you have it.”
Godinho said she enjoys life, especially in the water. Her love for water polo is because of the competitiveness and the team atmosphere. She said she loves the way her team came together early in the season.
“One of our first tournaments, we were at RCC (Riverside City College) and there was a close game, where they (Golden West) started to catch up to us, but we all came together and got each other pumped and then we ended up winning by two,” Godhino said. “Since it was the beginning of season, we were all still learning each other’s ways, but it was nice to see that we could all come together and push ourselves to play the game we should be playing and be the team we should be.”
Ever since then, the team has displayed their ability. The strong team chemistry for women’s water polo is showing in their overall record. They certainly made their season count.
