Boys water polo: Redwood powers past Archie Williams for MCAL title
The Redwood High boys water polo team came out swinging and completed its undefeated run through the league Saturday to capture the MCAL championship.
Top-seeded Redwood took a five-goal lead in the first quarter against No. 3 Archie Williams and rode the momentum to a 19-10 victory in San Anselmo. The Giants now have a 3-2 edge over the Peregrine Falcons as they have gone head to head in the past five league finals matchups.
“That was a big win,” said Redwood senior Charlie Poser who scored twice in the opening quarter. “Just getting our win back from last year. I was hoping to go four-for-four (in MCAL finals), but three-for-four is fine. Especially since it’s my senior year, it was a great win with me and Owen Malone, our goalkeeper, now to have three MCAL titles.”
Saturday’s victory in some way avenged last season’s 11-8 loss to the Peregrine Falcons in the league finals.
“It’s a little bit of revenge, but I wish we had won last year, when (Archie Williams) had such a great team, but this was still a great win against a great team,” Poser said.
Maddox McClellan, despite not scoring in the first quarter, led the Giants (20-6) with five goals, while Tyler Mahabir led the Redwood counterattack with four goals. Storm Jackson and Jakob Engberg had three goals apiece.
“That’s a freight train over there,” Archie Williams head coach Matt Swanson said of Redwood. “They are big, they are fast, they have a lot of depth. That is the best team they’ve had in a long time.”
Redwood, the two-time defending North Coast Section Division I champion, could be in line for a berth in the four-team NCS Open Division when the playoffs brackets are announced on Sunday, but earlier losses to Miramonte and Campolindo could make that a tough call for the selection committee. The Giants are currently ranked fifth in NCS.
Archie Williams (13-13) is ranked 12th in NCS, behind Tam (13-7) in eighth, as both are still looking to claim gold.
The Giants, still irked by their performance in an 11-10 win over Terra Linda on Oct. 16, and aching from a 12-10 loss to Menlo on Oct. 25, had something to prove during the playoffs. Redwood beat Terra Linda, 22-7, in Thursday’s MCAL semifinals.
“It was good to show we can win a game by one goal, then come back and win 22-7,” Redwood head coach Rudy Kardos said. “It definitely gave them a little something extra. I could see that when we took some shots there was a little more to it.”
Poser, who returned to competition a little over a week ago after missing most of the season due to a concussion, got the game rolling with a power play goal. Isaac Nikfar followed less than a minute later with the first of his two goals in the game, and Engberg tucked home the ball for a 3-0 Redwood lead in the first.
“I just had to get through (concussion protocol),” said Poser, who has played eight games this season. “I knew I was coming back for playoffs, which is what I really wanted.”
The Peregrine Falcons’ Chris Tomlinson got close enough to lift the ball over the Redwood defense for his lone goal midway through the opening quarter. But the Giants closed out the quarter with a three-goal run against Falcons goalie Josh Dixon, who finished with six saves.
“The start is probably one of the most important parts of the game. It just gives you the confidence to keep pushing through,” Poser said.
The Peregrine Falcons pushed back in the second period as Nate Greenberg scored four of his team-high five goals, including two on penalty shots in the second. Teammate Nolan Anderson added two of his three goals as the Falcons put up six goals in the second period to keep pace with the Giants, who led 12-7 at halftime.
The Peregrine Falcons never got closer than four goals after that against an aggressive Redwood defense and Malone’s imposing presence in the cage for 11 saves.
The Peregrine Falcons trailed by six near the end of the third quarter, but Greenberg and Anderson both scored within the final two minutes to give their team some momentum. The Giants shut out the Peregrine Falcons through the final 8 minutes, however, allowing them only four shots.
“They came back, they fought hard,” Kardos said of the Peregrine Falcons. “Nate Greenberg and Nolan Anderson did their best.”