Gators making splash in WCAL boys' LAX

SHP has one regular-season match remaining, a Thursday showdown at Serra. A victory would clinch at least a share of the WCAL title for the Gators. It would mark their fifth straight league championship, and their third different league championship in the past four years. Prior to winning the PAL title in 2016 and ’17, SHP won the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League title its last two years in the league.

“It’s been great,” SHP head coach Chris Rotelli said of playing in the WCAL. “Really good competition. All the teams are good … and we’ve had really competitive games. So, I think the playoffs are going to be great.”

With the WCAL playoffs opening Monday, May 7, the Gators sharpened their teeth with their final non-league tuneup of the year Saturday in an 18-5 win over Los Gatos at SHP. On display was a lineup that differs greatly from the past three seasons, each of which saw the Princeton-bound Crockett lead the team in scoring.

Saturday, it was the Barnds brothers who stepped up. Junior forward Tommy Barnds has been a force all season. After starting the year as a midfielder, he converted to forward to take over for Crockett. He and his younger brother, Billy Barnds, scored four goals apiece to pace SHP against Los Gatos.

All of Billy Barnds’ goals came during a spectacular first quarter, as the freshman scored all four during the opening 12 minutes.

“I got open for a lot of shots and I just made them,” Billy Barnds said. “They were just going in.”

The Barnds brothers are both multi-sport athletes. Tommy Barnds is a standout running back with the varsity football team. Billy Barnds has played three sports as a freshman, including junior-varsity football and junior-varsity basketball. Growing up in Woodside shooting around in their backyard lacrosse cage, though, each said lacrosse is their primary sport.

This year marks the first time the two have ever played on the same team.

Prior to Saturday, Billy Barnds’ career-high was three goals, which he totaled March 17 against Redwood, the last game Crockett played this year before he was sidelined with a back injury. In that game, Crockett scored 12 goals.

The senior left giant shoes to fill, for sure. Tommy Barnds, though, took a simple approach to moving to forward for the first time in his SHP career.

“I just kept an open mind,” Tommy Barnds said.

The junior knew he was vacating a midfield spot from which SHP was dealing from a position of strength. Even now, the Gators boast four strong middles in the three-slot rotation.

“We had a lot of depth at midfield, so we had a lot of other guys ready,” Tommy Barnds said.

Entering last week, SHP was alone in first place in the WCAL. A critical 7-6 loss at St. Ignatius, though, allowed Menlo to move into a tie for the top spot in the standings. It was a back-and-forth battle between the Gators and St. Ignatius goalie Mac Gates. And the Hofstra University-bound Gates won the day.

“Our offense had a little trouble,” Tommy Barnds said. “We missed a lot of shots. Their goalie played really well. It’s a game we could have won. Both teams played really well though.”

The three-round WCAL playoffs mark the end of the boys’ lacrosse season, which is not recognized by the Central Coast Section. After quarterfinal play Monday, May 7 in the single-elimination tournament, the semifinals are slated for Wednesday, May 9, with the championship match Friday, May 11.

Rotelli said he expects SHP to meet St. Ignatius again in the tournament.

“We can play better, and we’ll have to play better, if we want to beat them,” Rotelli said.

Rotelli said he wasn’t completely surprised the Gators rallied after Crockett’s injury, though contributions from the team’s five freshman weren’t entirely expected. SHP has proved more than a marque-player machine. Depth, Rotelli said, allowed the Gators to forge ahead.

“Since then our defense has gotten better,” Rotelli said. “It’s been a full team effort.”