Girls water polo: Marin Academy rallies past Redwood in early showdown

The battle for supremacy in the Marin County pools began in earnest this week, and Marin Academy is already positioning itself as a contender after just one game … but what a game.

The host Wildcats rallied 6-5 past previously undefeated Redwood in the MCAL opener for both teams on Thursday. Kelly Kurtzig, who a minute earlier scored the tying goal on a penalty shot, battled Giants goalkeeper Aurora DeVilbiss for a rebound after Lauren Reagan’s shot on the Redwood cage hit the post and bounced wide. Kurtzig wrapped up the ball and forced it past DeVilbiss to the far side of the net for the winning goal with just 38 seconds left to play.

Kurtzig scored a scored a game-high four goals and Hannah Reichley scored twice in the first period for the Wildcats (2-0, 1-0 MCAL).

“It’s good to start the season with a big win,” Marin Academy coach Joe Doyle said. “Redwood is a strong defensive team, so when you get high-quality opportunities, you’ve got to capitalize on them.”

The two Marin powers battled back and forth throughout the first half, although the Giants (5-1, 0-1) never led until the fourth period. Marin Academy held a one-goal lead at halftime before Kurtzig scored early in the third period for a 4-2 Wildcats advantage.

Then the Giants’ star sophomores showed their mettle. Samantha Riley struck first, then Arianna Nikfar split the defense with the second of her three goals to tie the game with less than 2 minutes left in the third period. Nikfar impressed her teammates — and surprised herself — with an outside shot in the fourth period that gave Redwood its first lead of the game, 5-4.

Morgan Sicklick got Redwood on the board in the first period.

The Wildcats, who graduated 2024 MCAL Player of the Year Gabby Reichley and two other starters, are getting greater contributions from Kurtzig and Hannah Reichley, and hope to see a more balanced attack this season.

Kurtzig scored six goals and Hannah Reichley netted five on Friday morning in the Wildcats’ 16-7 victory over Berkeley in the first round of the Sierra Shootout. Lily Sharif put up three goals for the Wildcats, who also got one each from Elle Parisi and Sophia Cestar.