A win when it counts most

Turns out the third time was the charm. Scoring three first-period goals, sixth-seeded M-A got off to a fast start and always had a response when the Wildcats threatened to climb back into the match to post an 8-4 win in the CCS Division I semifinals at Menlo-Atherton.

What was the biggest difference between a pair of one-goal losses during the regular season and Wednesday night?

“It’s the playoffs,” said M-A captain Zach de Haaff, one of five seniors on the Bears’ 16-man roster. “We came out with intensity. We knew it was one and done.… [Woodside] hasn’t played under the lights (of a CCS semifinal before).”

With the win, M-A (14-12) advances to the CCS Division I championship game for the first time since 2016. The Bears will face fourth-seeded Mitty, which upset top-seeded Leland 9-7 in the other semifinal matchup. The game is scheduled for Saturday at Independence High School in San Jose at a time yet to be determined.

De Haaff was one of two Bears to score multiple goals, finishing with a pair. The M-A offense was led by Michael Heller, who netted a hat trick and added a pair of assists. Seven Bears notched points in the game, while goaltender Jake Taylor finished with nine saves.

Ryan Mills had a goal and an assist to pace the Woodside offense. Joseph Untrecht, Duncan Vaughan and Andrew Mills also scored for the Wildcats.

“I’m so happy for the boys,” said Kates, in his second season with the Bears. “They beat us two times by one goal (during the regular season). It hurt.”

After that 6-5 defeat in October, the Bears made some positional changes and they worked to perfection Wednesday night. It was the Bears attack down the left flank that hurt the second-seeded Wildcats early and enabled M-A to take control of the match.

M-A didn’t wait long to put the pressure on Woodside (19-7), needing less than 30 seconds for de Haaff to find the back of the net from the left point off a pass from Heller.

The two then swapped roles 40 seconds later, with Heller burying a pass from de Haaff for a 2-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.

The Bears added a third goal when Sonny Watkins took a Gabe Montoya pass a the left post and scorched the net for a 3-0 lead.

But just as M-A was looking to put the game away early, Woodside crawled back into the match. Untrecht buried a shot from the left wing following a cross-pool pass from Ryan Mills to get the Wildcats on the scoreboard with 1:06 left in the opening period. Vaughan got the Wildcats a goal closer with eight seconds left when he scored from the point to cut the Woodside deficit to 3-2 going into the second period.

The Wildcats turned up the pressure defensively to start the second quarter, but it was M-A that pushed its lead back to two goals when a Heller shot from the slot deflected off a Woodside defender and in for a 4-2 advantage.

But the Wildcats returned the favor when Ryan Mills’ deep shot from the point scored off a deflection.

The Bears regained the momentum, however, when Jake Blohm, another senior, skipped a shot into the back of the net off an assist from Watkins to give the Bears a 5-3 lead at the halftime break.

In the second half, it was M-A that turned the screws defensively, holding Woodside to just one goal. The Bears scored two more in the third period, with de Haaff and Heller finding the back of the net for a 7-3 Bears’ lead going into the fourth quarter.

A Montoya strike from the set rounded out the scoring for the Bears early in the fourth quarter, while the Wildcats scored their only second-half goal on a Andrew Mills deflection off the goal frame and in with under a minute to play.

“It’s a great feeling,” de Haaff said. “Last home game, get a big win. … We have been building the last two years to get to this point.”

Open Division

Menlo School, the No. 2 seed in the CCS Open Division, had already split two games against third-seeded Bellarmine this season.

Wednesday’s CCS Open Division semifinal was the rubber match between the two national powers and it was the Bells who came away with a 12-7 victory.

Bellarmine advanced to the championship match against top-seeded Sacred Heart Prep, which knocked off No. 4 St. Francis, 12-4. The Gators and Bells will play at Independence High School in San Jose Saturday at a time yet to be determined.

Menlo (20-9) had a chance to join the rival Gators in the finals, but an poor second quarter doomed the Knights’ chances against Bellarmine (17-11). Tied 2-2 after the first period, the Bells scored five unanswered goals in the second to take control of the match, leading 7-2 at halftime.

“"We played an uncharacteristically bad second quarter, missing shots we usually make and seeing the ball just not bounce our way,” Menlo head coach Jack Bowen said in an email.

Greg Hilderbrand led the offense for Menlo, netting a hat trick. Connor MacMitchell scored twice for the Knights. Connor Enright and Noah Housenbold rounded out the scoring for Menlo.

Goaltender Zayd Mahmoud finished with seven saves for the Knights, who still have at least one more match to play in the Northern California tournament.