Prep water polo: Marin Academy boys pull off OT upset, reach semis

No. 9 seed Marin Academy pulled off the upset to knock off top-seeded Piedmont, 10-9, in overtime during Saturday’s North Coast Section Division II boys water polo quarterfinals at Amador Valley High. The NCS defending champion Wildcats (13-11, 5-6 MCAL) will face No. 5 James Logan in Wednesday’s semifinals.

The Wildcats were trailing 7-3 when Jack Buchanan scored a pair of goals to close out the first half to start a Marin Academy rally. Justin Tachiki scored the tying goal in the fourth period, and the game went to overtime. Tachiki scored the game-winner in the second overtime period.

Buchanan led Marin Academy with four goals, while Tachiki scored three. Ari Hirson scored twice for the Wildcats and Dean Cunningham also scored. Rali Breene anchored the defense, holding Piedmont to just two goals after halftimes, en route to a career-high 17 blocks.

• Top-seeded Redwood High surged to a 20-10 victory over No. 8 College Park behind balanced attack during Saturday’s NCS D-I quarterfinals in Larkspur. The Falcons held to MCAL champion Giants (22-6, 11-0 MCAL) to a four-goal lead in the first quarter, but Redwood closed out the half with a run for a 11-5 advantage before seizing control in the second half. Maddox McClellan and Tyler Mohair each scored four goals for the Giants, while Jackson Monty, Storm Jackson and Jakob Engberg scored three goals each. Hudson Quirk, Isaac Nikfar and Zach Schuman also scored. Redwood is scheduled to face No. 5 Monte Vista in Wednesday’s semifinals.
• No. 4 seed Tam High fell 15-10 to No. 5 Monte Vista during Saturday’s NCS D-I quarterfinals at Marin Academy. Jasper Feldman scored five goals for the Red-tailed Hawks (14-8, 8-2 MCAL), who were looking for a rematch with MCAL foe Redwood in the NCS semifinals. Sammy Meleis added two goals for the Hawks.
• No. 7 Archie Williams High fell to No. 2 Northgate, 9-8, during Saturday’s NCS D-I quarterfinals, held at Acalanes High. The Peregrine Falcons (14-14, 8-3 MCAL) were chasing their second NCS title.

Girls water polo

No. 4 seed Marin Catholic rolled to a 7-3 victory over No. 5 California during Saturday’s NCS D-II quarterfinals at Redwood.

Emily Morris broke a lengthy stalemate to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead in the first quarter. Lucia Lind scored two of her team-high three goals in the second quarter. Sophia Duddleston added two goals and Malia Slaught also scored for the Wildcats (12-9, 4-6 MCAL), who will face top-seeded Amador Valley in Wednesday’s semifinals.

Marin Catholic, the defending NCS champion, graduated almost its entire starting lineup from last season, while Amador Valley is taking a step back after a first-round loss in the NCS D-I playoffs last year.

• No. 4 seed Tam High held off No. 5 Alameda for a 10-8 victory during Saturday’s NCS D-I quarterfinals at Marin Academy. The Red-tailed Hawks (21-7, 9-2 MCAL) advance to the semifinals for the second year in a row, with against date against No. 1 San Ramon Valley. Sophia Uhlhorn-Thornton led Tam with four goals, including a 5-meter in the fourth to extend Tam’s lead to 9-7. Cat Philp had three goals for the Hawks, while Sabine Barringer scored two and Reese Arwin had one.
• No. 8 Redwood High fell 14-7 to defending champion and top-seeded San Ramon Valley at De La Salle during Saturday’s NCS D-I quarterfinals, a rematch of last year’s quarterfinals. The Giants finish the season 17-7, 7-3 MCAL.
• No. 2 Archie Williams High fought past host Marin Academy, the seventh seed, for a 13-10 victory Saturday and a berth in the NCS D-I semifinals. Taylor Fahy scored a game-high five goals for the Peregrine Falcons, while Sylvie Fine scored three The MCAL champion Peregrine Falcons (18-8, 10-1 MCAL) will face No. 3 Las Lomas on Wednesday. Archie Williams led 10-4 at halftime before the Wildcats (16-5, 9-3) started to rally. Senior Elle Parisi led the charge for Marin Academy with four goals, while Hannah Reichley had three goals. The Wildcats got a pair of goals from Kelly Kurtzig and one from Lauren Reagan. Archie Williams beat Marin Academy, 16-9, during the regular season.