Boys water polo: Redwood tops Archie Williams, takes MCAL top seed

Rudy Kardos was confident before his Redwood High boys water polo team jumped into the pool against longtime nemesis Archie Williams: “We’re going to see history tonight,” he told the officials.

The MCAL season had been building to Wednesday’s climax between two undefeated juggernauts with the top seed in next week’s MCAL playoffs st stake.

“Like any big game, there’s more energy behind it,” Archie Williams assistant coach Conor Neumann said. “We came in with a lot of emotion and energy.”

An early three-goal run gave the Giants the energy they needed to carry them through to a 9-4 victory over the Peregrine Falcons, a piece of history for Kardos. According to Kardos, the win is the Giants’ first in the regular season over Archie Williams since at least 2011, the year he took over as Redwood coach.

The Giants’ last win over Archie Williams came in the 2014 MCAL playoffs, 9-6. The Falcons defeated the Giants, 10-8, earlier that season.

“This wasn’t our best game, but Charlie Mills was amazing in goal, and Sawyer Goldberg and Billy Zech played well,” Kardos said. “For Sawyer, it’s great to see him improving and coming up the ranks like this.”

Redwood claims the No. 1 seed and will face No. 4 Terra Linda in the MCAL semifinals Wednesday, with No. 2 Archie Williams scheduled to play No. 3 Tam. The finals are scheduled for Oct. 29.

“This meant a lot for all of us, for me coming up to varsity, and for the seniors for whom this is their last shot at the title,” said Redwood sophomore Goldberg, who scored three goals. “I’m really happy about this win and now we’re focused on MCALs.”

Redwood now has the opportunity to win the regular-season and MCAL tournament titles with an undefeated record, something Archie Williams did last season, when it defeated Redwood in the MCAL championship, 12-11.

That loss to the Falcons stuck in Kardos’ craw, but Wednesday’s victory goes a long way toward making things feel better.

Redwood unleashed a powerful barrage from the first ball drop against Archie Williams goalkeeper Haakon Lacy, who had 10 saves against 20 Redwood shots in the first half.

“Both teams have a very strong defensive game,” Lacy said. “I know Redwood’s shooters and I feel like my teammates did pretty well on defense. We faced some hard shots from those guys.”

Lacy played for Kardos during the summer on the U.S. National Under-16 team that played in Greece.

“He’s an outstanding player,” Kardos said. “I’ve coached him for a long time and I’ve known him since he was 11 years old or so. It was great to see him and Charlie Mills, two of the best, playing in such a big game.”

Finn Barnes and Goldberg scored four minutes apart in the first period as Redwood grabbed a 2-0 lead. The Giants’ Preston Page slammed home a shot with just two seconds left in the first half.

The Falcons got on the board in the third quarter with Vincent Krilanovich’s goal.

Redwood responded with an onslaught beginning with Sawyer’s second goal. Zech then loaded up for back-to-back goals in less than a minute for a 6-1 Redwood lead.

Micah Sher brought the Peregrine Falcons roaring back as he snuck through the Redwood defense for a pair of goals in the last two minutes of the third period. Mac Berry split the defense with a shot from nearly 3 meters out to keep the Falcons’ hopes alive.

“We tend to lose momentum in the third quarter, but we kept our momentum going,” Goldberg said. “We used that momentum shift to put pressure on the other team.”

Trailing by two goals to start the last frame, the Peregrine Falcons were eager to break through Redwood’s defense, but the Giants’ Charlie Mills stopped all five shots he saw. Mills finished with 15 saves.

Zech ripped home a shot in the fourth quarter, then Max Matthews and Sawyer each scored on an empty net to end the game.

“We just weren’t able to put away some shots, especially in the first half and that bit us in the end,” said Lacy, who had 15 saves. “I thought when we went on that run in the third quarter, we could turn things around, but credit to Redwood. They played a great game.”