Boys water polo: Archie Williams secures MCAL title rematch
The idea of another title tilt with Redwood High is as exciting as almost any other playoff matchup Archie Williams High boys water polo head coach Matt Swanson can dream of.
For the Peregrine Falcons, there’s a lot more at stake Saturday than the MCAL pennant. There’s a chance to exorcise the ghosts of last season, when Redwood defeated Archie Williams in the MCAL championship and then defeated the Peregrine Falcons in the North Coast Section playoffs.
“Sure, it’s a chance for revenge for last year,” Swanson said. “And I’m excited to get a shot at one more title. It’s great that Redwood has rebuilt its program after graduating so many of last year’s seniors.”
The second-seeded Peregrine Falcons (19-8) clinched their berth in the MCAL title game with Wednesday night’s 9-8 victory over No. 3 Terra Linda (15-8). No. 4 Redwood (15-11) narrowly upset top seed Tam, 12-11, in overtime in Wednesday’s early semifinal.
Saturday’s championship game, hosted by Marin Academy, is scheduled for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Redwood and Archie Williams have faced each other for the MCAL title the past two seasons, splitting the series.
The Peregrine Falcons, long one of the MCAL elite, needed to be on top of their game against a young Trojans squad seeking to build on last season’s postseason success. Archie Williams needed a fourth-quarter scoring burst to hold off Terra Linda, 13-10, when they last met on Sept. 27. Both sides knew the rematch would be just as intense.
Jake Carrera and Hayden Long each scored three goals for Archie Williams, while Vincent Kirilaroud scored twice. Nolan Anderson added one Falcons goal.
“We knew this would be a one-goal game,” Swanson said. “It’s hard to beat a good team and it’s hard to beat a team twice. … We had some great passing and that was a difference. Passing and recognizing the opportunities were an emphasis for us the past week, and I think we saw that.”
Cameron Heller led the Trojans with three goals, while Jake Middleton and Harley Haverman each scored twice. David Finney added a goal for the Trojans, who advanced to the CIF NorCal Division III semifinals last season.
The Peregrine Falcons were seemingly in control after the first half, but the Trojans came out firing in the second half to cut a three-goal deficit to just one in the third period. After scoring his second goal of the game at the 3:41 mark of the third period, Heller again sent the ball hurtling toward the net with the third period about to expire. Heller celebrated enthusiastically after watching the ball hit the crossbar and rebound into the goal behind goalkeeper Haakon Lacy to cut the Falcons’ lead to 7-6.
Terra Linda was desperately seeking any kind of open shot in the fourth quarter. The Trojans went back and forth with the Falcons, with Finney’s goal coming between scores from Long and Kirilaroud as the Peregrine Falcons maintained a two-goal edge with just under five minutes left to play.
The Trojans kept firing toward Lacy, but too many of their shots missed the mark. To their credit, the Trojans remained calm, even as time ran off the clock. Terra Linda worked the ball around before getting it to Middleton for a shot that found its way through traffic for a goal that cut the gap on the scoreboard to just one.
The Trojans were feeling new life, but they might have spent too much time setting up the shot as they had just 26 seconds to get the ball and score. Archie Williams killed time, never giving Terra Linda another shot on goal.
“Most of the second half, we had the momentum,” Terra Linda coach Danny Roland said. “But we missed too many good opportunities and too many shots went wide.”
Solid goalkeeping on both ends kept the game close throughout.
“Sam Frack played a phenomenal game,” said Roland, the goalkeeper on Archie Williams’ 2017 CIF NorCal D-I championship team. “Both goalkeepers played great games. It’s great to see that kind of effort.”