Boys water polo: San Marin turns back MC, reaches NCS semis
The Mustangs are enjoying the best season in the history of the San Marin High boys water polo program, as they clinched their first North Coast Section semifinal berth on Saturday.No. 3 seed San Marin held off an intense comeback from No. 6 Marin Catholic for a 16-12 victory in the NCS Division II quarterfinals at Redwood High on Saturday.
The Mustangs (17-9, 5-5 MCAL) added to their win total, the most on school record, with their third victory over the Wildcats this season. San Marin will face either No. 2 Granada or No. 7 Bishop O’Dowd on Nov. 12, with a title berth at stake.
Beckett Corridan led the Mustangs on Saturday with five goals, while Brogan Corridan tallied four goals, three of which came in the fourth quarter San Marin turned back Marin Catholic’s rally effort.
“The brother combination of Beckett and Brogan Corridan has been really effective for us. They’ve been our leaders,” San Marin head coach Chris Procopio said. “Brogan is part of the Olympic Development program, and together they bring a lot of high water polo IQ and talent.”
The Wildcats have been quietly enjoying a resurgence, having qualified for the MCAL playoff field for the first time since 2013.
“This team has so much to build on,” Marin Catholic head coach Sophie Doyle said of her youthful roster.
Marin Catholic junior Kylan Kime scored a game-high six goals. A pair of sophomores did the rest of the scoring for Marin Catholic, as Beau Panzica added four goals and Rohan Kime netted two.
Trailing by four goals, the Wildcats went on a three-goal run in the middle of the fourth quarter, while the Mustangs were hampered by foul trouble. Panzica scored on a fast break, then Kylan Kime found the back of the net on a touch-and-shoot in front of the goal. Rohan Kime’s power play goal from the corner was partially blocked, but had enough on it to get past San Marin goalkeeper Emmit Carrey to cut the Mustangs’ lead to 13-12 with just more than 3 minutes to play.
Brogan Corridan ended the Wildcats’ run as he beat Marin Catholic keeper Sebastian Drucker for a goal to turn the tide. San Marin finished the game with a three-goal run of its own to seal the win.
“It was very emotional, since a lot of these guys know each other from club ball,” Procopio said. “It’s hard to beat a team three times in a season, and we’ve had some great games with each other.”
San Marin took the early lead when it won the first meeting, 15-11, in a September tournament, then rallied to win the MCAL matchup, 12-10, in October.
Neither team had much of an advantage early on Saturday in a back-and-forth contest.
The Wildcats’ Kylan Kime scored a pair of goals late in the second quarter as Marin Catholic took a 6-4 lead, despite losing starting center Liam McClellan to foul trouble.
“We were driving, we had good movement,” Doyle said. “Then we stopped driving and San Marin took advantage of the counterattack.”
The Wildcats, already missing one starter to sickness, didn’t have the depth to keep up the pressure, as the Mustangs scored three goals in the final minute of the first half for a 7-6 lead. Brogan Corridan’s floater over Drucker at the buzzer put San Marin up for good.
Daniel Volker scored three goals, all in the third quarter, for San Marin, which also got a pair of goals from Dylan Procopio, and goals from Logan Reed and Jack McConnell.