Girls water polo: NCS title eludes Marin Catholic again

Marin Catholic head coach Sophie Waldron and her players were hoping the taste of gold would erase the bitter memory of last year’s season-ending loss. Instead, they experienced a painful sense of deja vu.

The Wildcats (15-8) played tooth-and-nail with Northgate throughout Saturday’s North Coast Section Girls Division II championships, only to come up short, 8-7. Northgate’s Chloe Pappas scored the winning goal with 34 seconds left to play, after Marin Catholic had rallied from two goals down to tie the score, 7-7.

“This doesn’t feel good,” Waldron said. The result was all too familiar for Marin Catholic, which lost to Carondelet by the same score in last year’s championship game.

Emma Slaught, Hannah Slaught and Isabella Kiriakis each scored two goals for Marin Catholic, with another goal coming from Claire Cassidy.

Both teams showcased their high-powered offenses, with more than 30 shots each.

“The ball just wasn’t going in a lot of the time,” said Waldron, who several times watched the ball take fluky bounces around the cage — hitting posts, the crossbar, players, anything but the back of the net. Still, the Wildcats put together enough of an offense to nearly claim the championship.

The momentum swung in Northgate’s favor early on. After Emma Slaught opened the scoring early on, the Broncos’ Evaline Vechio scored two of her game-high three goals to give Northgate a 2-1 lead, despite shooting into the sun at Marin Academy’s new aquatic facility.

Northgate (20-7) built a 3-1 lead in the second quarter before Kiriakis scored on a shot across the cage to close the gap before halftime.

Marin Catholic had the momentum in the second half, as Hannah Slaught spun the ball into the net for a tying goal, then Kiriakis powered a five-meter shot into the left side of the cage for a 4-3 lead with just 26 seconds left in the period.

A goal by Sophia Weise to end the third quarter tied the game once again, then she gave the Broncos a 5-4 lead with a penalty shot early in the fourth.

Emma Slaught evened the score once again as she forced the ball past goalkeeper Poppy Albright. Northgate came right back with goals from Rachel Tucke and Vechio less than a minute later for a 7-5 lead with 2:35 left to play.

Without wasting precious time, Hannah Slaught broke through the Northgate defense to get a good look at the cage for a goal.

With time ticking away, the Wildcats started playing with desperation and an extra level of determination. After Marin Catholic senior goalkeeper Noelle Antongiovani stopped Northgate, she quickly launched the ball far ahead to Cassidy, who was already racing out front of two Northgate swimmers. They barely caught up to her, but she drew a penalty, and scored on the ensuing free shot to tie the game with just 1:15 left on the clock.

While it looked like the game might be heading toward overtime, Northgate unleashed an all-out assault. Pappas broke through to get within two meters of the MC cage, but was surrounded by Wildcats. Antongiovani stopped the shot by Pappas, who grabbed the rebound and put it into the net for the deciding goal.

“This was a winnable game for us,” Waldron said. “We had plenty of opportunities, but they made more of their opportunities than we did.”

Antongiovani stopped 15 of 32 shots by Northgate in an incredible defensive effort.

“I’m proud of the girls,” Waldron said. “I love this team a lot and I’m proud of them. We lost a lot of games by just one goal or so, but we were right there all season. All the girls are special.”