Boys water polo: Archie Williams survives challenge from Terra Linda in wild finish

Whit Flake grabbed the loose ball amid the chaos in front of the Terra Linda net and pounded it into the back of the net for the winning goal during a frantic finish Wednesday as the Archie Williams boys water polo team emerged with a 13-10 victory in a key duel between two MCAL playoff hopefuls.

Jake Carrera and Hayden Long led the Peregrine Falcons (7-4, 3-1 MCAL) with three goals each. Two of Carrera’s goals came in the decisive fourth period after the two teams had played to a 9-9 stalemate through the first 21 minutes.

“That last period was key. We got some breaks and we played well to the end,” Archie Williams head coach Matthew Swanson said. “Terra Linda put up a great effort. They shot really well.”

The Trojans made the mistake of giving Carrera room to size up his cannon shot for a long-range goal as the Falcons broke open the fourth period with a 10-9 lead. The Trojans’ Andrew Chong retaliated just 90 seconds later to keep the score balanced.

The Falcons then broke through the staunch Trojans defense for three short-range goals, starting with Flake, and followed by Nate Greenberg and Carrera.

“Archie Williams is just a really good team. Their back-door shooting was key,” said Terra Linda head coach Danny Roland.

Terra Linda goalkeeper Sam Frack matched Archie Williams netminder Haakon Lacy nearly save for save, coming up with the biggest blocks when the Trojans needed him most to keep the Falcons in check.

“That’s the best I’ve seen Sam play so far,” Roland said. “Both goalkeepers were fantastic.”

Neither team gained an advantage of more than a goal through the first three periods, thanks to phenomenal defense at both ends.

“We had an idea of what Swanson would do, we just didn’t execute well enough,” said Roland, a former Archie Williams star goalkeeper from 2015-2018, with Swanson as his coach. The Falcons (formerly the Pirates) were undefeated in MCAL all four of those years, and were CIF NorCal Division I champions in the 2017-18 season.

The relationship between coach and former player remains tight as they have worked together at Sleepy Hollow Aquatics.

Roland’s former high school teammates had an impromptu reunion poolside after the game, featuring some of Marin County’s elite players from the past decade.

“It’s great to have these guys all together again,” Swanson said.

The revival of the Terra Linda boys water polo program (8-1, 2-1) was on display as the Trojans battled the perennial title contenders from Archie Williams. The Trojans helped carry the banner for Marin County through the postseason last year, advancing all the way to the CIF Northern California Regional Division III playoffs.

The Trojans have been bumped up from D-II to D-I in the North Coast Section this season, and have been up to the challenge for the most part.

“Terra Linda is really deep,” Swanson said. “It’s great to see the competition in the MCAL getting stronger.”

Jake Middleton and Cameron Hellar each scored three goals to lead the Trojans against the Falcons. Terra Linda also got two goals from Soren Jessen and one each from Harley Hageman and Chong.

Archie Williams continues its efforts to shore up its playoff positioning on Oct. 5 against Redwood, after a matchup with non-league opponent San Domenico.

Terra Linda has a tough week ahead, with matchups against two Marin powerhouses: Marin Academy and Tam.