Boys water polo: Archie Williams wins early-season showdown with Tam

After a showcase summer on the international water polo scene, Tam High’s Reed Hanna found tough competition waiting for him closer to home.

Hanna scored twice for the Red-tailed Hawks on Thursday in Mill Valley, but Vincent Krilanovich stole the spotlight with a game-high five goals as Archie Williams took a 12-9 victory as the rivalry between Archie Williams and Tam began again in earnest.

“It’s a strong start to the rivalry,” Tam head coach Steve Lacy said. “It was just tough to go down early.”

The Falcons (8-1, 2-0 MCAL) earned an inside track toward the playoffs with Thursday’s win, and they hope to flip the script on the 2023 postseason.

Tam (2-1, 1-1) won the early showdown, 11-8, in 2023, which gave the Hawks the tiebreaker for the regular-season title as both teams finished 8-1 in the MCAL. The Falcons eventually lost in double-overtime to Redwood in the MCAL playoff championship.

“This game was a big win for us against a team like Tam,” said Archie Williams coach Steve Carrera, who takes over the reins from longtime coach Matt Swanson. Carrera also coaches the College of Marin women’s water polo team.

“Tam, Redwood, Terra Linda … they’re all really good teams. There are a lot of teams you have to respect in this league,” Carrera said. “We have to be prepared for those teams.”

Redwood and Novato are both 1-0 in league after the first week, with Tam and Marin Academy both 1-1. But the season is just starting and the level of talent is improving the competition.

Krilanovich, who is headed to Stanford University next season, stepped up Thursday for the Falcons, who also got three goals from Hayden Long and one from Nolan Anderson, both 2023 second-team all-MCAL picks. First-team honoree Nate Greenberg tallied two goals and defending league MVP Jake Carrera added another.

Andrew Sternfels scored a team-best four goals for Tam, which also got two goals from Hanna, a USC commit. Bern Kent and Declan Murphy each chipped in a goal.

While San Anselmo’s Dylan Woodhead was competing in the Paris Olympics with Team USA, another generation of Marin players was carving out its own future. Hanna joined former Archie Williams goalkeeper Haakon Lacy on the Team USA Water Polo youth national team for the World Aquatics U18 Championships in July.

Earlier, Greenberg was on the USA roster for the World Aquatics U16 Championships in June. Terra Linda High and Sleepy Hollow Aquatics attacker Soren Jessen, a UCLA commit, was named to the USA Water Polo’s youth futures international training roster in August.

Greenberg and Hanna took their international experience with them back home for Thursday’s rivalry.

Krilanovich and Long got the Falcons going with three goals in the first period off some beautiful passing and set plays. Hanna found the net on a behind-the head shot to keep the action taut early on.

“(Krilanovich) is a beast in the middle,” Steve Carrera said. “He’s been really helpful to create good matchups for us.”

Sternfels surprised the Falcons with a pair of goals in a 30-second span in the second period to tie the score at 3-3. After the teams traded goals, the Falcons went on a 4-0 run before going into halftime with a 9-5 lead.

“It’s early in the season and we’ve got some things to work on. We were a little sloppy in the middle,” Steve Carrera said. “We have a little different style this year, more of an aggressive defense-first approach that we hope will create opportunities.”

Tam stepped up the defense playing 1-on-1 in the second half, which created turnovers and scoring opportunities for the Hawks, who drove to within two goals of the Falcons, 10-8, midway through the fourth period.

“They connected on their opportunities more than we did,” Lacy said. We didn’t finish on our opportunities as often as I’d like.”

Back-to-back goals by Greenberg and Krilanovich with less than 4 minutes to play just about sealed the Falcons’ win, despite a furious attack from Tam.

“This was good competition for the first week of MCAL,” Lacy said. “But this loss puts us in a rough spot for the No. 1 seed. We’ll get things sorted out and we’ll come back.”

Girls water polo

Five players scored two goals each for Archie Williams as the Peregrine Falcons roared to an 11-4 victory over host Tam on Thursday to stake their claim as the early MCAL favorites after the first week of league play.

Holly Hovey, Avery Hinkelman, Elsa Kastner, Sylvie Fine and Taylor Fahy each netted a pair of goals, and Mila Rendic added a first-period goal for the Falcons. Goalkeeper Kaeley Sullivan stopped 10 of 23 Tam shots.

Sabine Barringer led Tam with three goals and Julia Ulvestad lobbed a shot over Sullivan midway through the third period.