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Boys water polo: Redwood secures MCAL title shot with double-OT win

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Battle tested and battle scarred, Redwood High senior Ossie Joplin had a score to settle with Terra Linda. Joplin celebrated his 100th career goal Thursday night during the Giants’ 14-13 double overtime win over the Trojans in the MCAL boys water polo semifinals.

“We knew this would be a tough one,” said Joplin, who suffered a cut above his right eye in Redwood’s 12-8 regular-season win against Terra Linda nine days earlier.

Redwood senior Sawyer Goldberg had been held scoreless, but with time winding down, he came through with the golden goal to spark a frenzy of joy among the Giants.

“It was stressful to be down almost the entire game,” Goldberg said. “Then to bring it to overtime, then double overtime. But it’s a relief to be able to go back to the championship.”

Redwood returns to the MCAL championship game Saturday to defend its crown against Archie Williams. The Giants beat the Peregrine Falcons 12-11 in double overtime in last year’s title tilt.

“Coming into the game, we knew Terra Linda was a quality team and we didn’t underestimate them,” Redwood coach Rudy Kardos said. “We didn’t play our best, we missed so many shots. But Terra Linda played a great game. This was a game no one should lose. Both teams played well and I’m proud of the boys.”

Joplin finished with seven goals, while freshman Storm Jackson and Maddox McClellan each had three.

Senior Patrick Knopf scored three times for the Trojans, who also got two goals from senior Andrew Chong and scoring from Jack Middleton and Cameron Hellar.

“The core of the team, they’ve been playing together a long time now, and they played really well,” Terra Linda coach Danny Roland said.

Terra Linda led almost the entire game, with senior Soren Jessen’s seven goals leading the way.

Redwood took a 3-2 lead midway through the second period on a goal by McClellan, but the Trojans went on to outscore the Giants 4-1 before halftime for a 6-4 lead.

The Trojans managed to limit, if not stop, the Giants’ big scorers for most of the game.

“The plan was really not to let Ossie, Maddox and Sawyer shoot,” Roland said. “It worked for the first four quarters. But when we got toward the end and into overtime, they started to get their looks. They’re good shooters and they did a good job.”

Joplin scored twice in the final minute of regulation play, including a buzzer-beater he powered inside the far post to force overtime.

The first six minutes of overtime were even on the scoreboard, with both teams scoring three goals. The Trojans got two overtime goals from Jessen and one from Dawson Kosiak, while McClellan scored two overtime goals for the Giants before Joplin again came up with his landmark goal.

Jessen, who makes his living in front of the net, fought his way through traffic to score the go-ahead goal, 13-12, with less than a minute left in the first overtime. All the Trojans had to do was to prevent the Giants from getting a clean look at the net, and control the ball. But pressure from Redwood’s defense forced Terra Linda to make a mistake. A blind pass by the Trojans in an attempt to clear the ball was scooped up by the nationally-ranked Joplin, who was waiting in front of the Terra Linda net to power the ball home. His 100th goal sent the game into sudden death.

“I’m happy for the seniors. This is not their last game, and to get us to the championship, they played really well,” Kardos said.

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