Water polo: Top two teams set for finals clash
Marin Academy and Archie Williams shared a lofty perch as the two elite teams in the Marin County Athletic League this season, both undefeated in league play for most of the year. Round one in the battle for supremacy went to the Peregrine Falcons. A rematch is now set, with the pennant on the line.
The Wildcats and Falcons will square off in the MCAL championship on Saturday at host Marin Academy.
Archie Williams kicked off Wednesday’s MCAL semifinals with an 11-2 victory over rival Redwood.
The Peregrine Falcons (16-7) got off to a quick start, with a pair of goals from Loretta Hovey, who finished with three scores. By halftime, the Falcons’ lead had grown to six goals, with Archie Williams goalkeeper Laurel Cooper collecting six first-half saves. She finished with 10 saves.
“It took us a little while to get going,” Archie Williams coach Todd Duplanty said. “We expected this to be a competitive game. This is playoff water polo and everyone came to play.”
Avery Hinkelman also scored three goals for the Falcons, with all her damage coming in the fourth quarter. Holly Hovey and Ingrid Wahlstrom scored two goals each and Caitlin Logan added another for Archie Williams.
“Our seniors played a great game,” Duplanty said. “It’s great to have them step up, and to have some of the underclassmen who will be leaders next season step up as well.”
Annabelle Kilgore and Jordan Mautus scored the only goals for Redwood (10-15).
Archie Williams has now defeated Redwood in all three of their matches this season, with the Peregrine Falcons winning the two previous contests 7-2 and 15-3. Redwood came into the playoffs ready to change the script.
“I’m proud of what we did,” Redwood coach Brian Monty said. “Archie Williams is a really good, experienced team. But we played tough. We played hard and, sure, we lost, to a good team, but we can take some pride from the way we played.”
In the other semi, host Marin Academy was firing at full power in a 14-7 win against Marin Catholic. Hannah Reichley, Cece Dickinson and Elle Parisi each scored four goals for the Wildcats. Parisi scored twice in the first period as Marin Academy carved out a 4-2 lead.
Reichley scored three goals in the third period to lead a 6-1 outburst for Marin Academy that sealed the game.
Brooks Bent and Gabby Reichley each scored one goal for Marin Academy (23-2).
Claire Cassidy was relentless for Marin Catholic, as she scored five goals. Alyssa Eddy and Katie Lyons each added a goal for MC (11-10-1).
Redwood boys win
Ossie Joplin waited all evening to get on the Redwood High scoresheet. The wait was worth it for the Giants.
Joplin scored only two goals against top-seeded Tam during the Giants’ 12-11 overtime win during Wednesday’s semifinals. His first, in the fourth quarter, put No. 4 Redwood in a position to win the game. His second goal came in overtime to clinch Redwood’s return trip to the MCAL boys water polo finals on Saturday.
Redwood (15-11) will face the winner of Wednesday’s other semifinal between No. 2 seed Archie Williams and No. 3 seed Terra Linda. The championship, hosted by Marin Academy, is scheduled for Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
“We are No. 4 only on paper,” Redwood head coach Rudy Kardos said. “The top four teams this season are really close. We’re in for a tough match no matter who we play.”
Tam had the momentum throughout the first half, with Fields Palmer, Andrew Sternfels and Reed Hanna giving the Hawks a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, which they maintained through most of the first half.
Palmer and Sternfels finished with three goals each, while Hanna added two. Wesley Attinger, Wyatt Donaldson and Bern Kent each scored one for the Red-tailed Hawks (17-7).
The teams were almost even as they played to a 6-3 halftime score, with Tam leading, but Redwood was starting to build its own momentum.
Sawyer Goldberg answered the challenge for Redwood in the second half, as he scored twice within the first two minutes of the third period. A long shot across the goal by Andrew Wallace evened the score at 6-6 after two-and-a-half minutes in the second half.
“Our offense was not that great to start,” said Kardos, whose Giants defeated Tam, 10-7, earlier in the season. “We gave them opportunities to score and they did a good job. But to come back from that, to be patient and to get the right matchups, our guys stepped up tonight.”
Tam tried to recapture its hold on the game, but could never quite secure the lead. Even after the Hawks worked up a 10-8 edge in the fourth quarter, the Giants came back with goals by Goldberg and Joplin to even the score with 2:23 left to play in regulation.
Redwood goalkeeper Will Rauzi stopped a shot, then launched the outlet pass just ahead of Wallace near the Tam goal. Hawks keeper Felix Clarkson came out to challenge Wallace for the ball, but Wallace grabbed it first. Clarkson was unable to get back in position to stop the shot that hit the back of the net to give the Giants their first lead of the game, 11-10, with 1:09 in regulation.
Tam tied the score with 27 seconds left on the clock after the Hawks worked the ball around, then got the ball in Palmer’s hand for a cross to the far side of the net, sending the game into overtime.
In the first 3-minute half of overtime play, the Giants were looking to get any open shot. Joplin saw a gap and, with a bit of luck and geometrical skill, he bounced the ball off the interior of the post and into the net for the winning goal. Tam pressed the attack, but could not get the ball past Rauzi, who had 12 saves.