From the sports archives: M-A cruises into polo finals

Given the suspension of athletics in the county, the Daily Journal decided to dive into our 20-year archives to bring readers some of our favorite stories over the years.

NOV. 20, 2008 — Defending Central Coast Section champions, reigning Peninsula Athletic League champs, top seed in the CCS Division I water polo playoffs and the top-ranked team in CCS according to the coaches — the Menlo-Atherton girls’ water polo team has had an impressive run the last year. With all those accolades, however, come expectations — and pressure. Anything less than an spot in the Division I finals would be a disappointment for the Bears this season. M-A had a chance to return to the finals when the top-seeded Bears hosted No. 4 Los Altos. After a slow start, the Bears gradually pulled away from the Eagles, posting a 13-6 win. M-A coach Chris Rubin admitted there has been pressure on the Bears — literally all season. “I think there’s been pressure since Week 2 when we were seeded first in CCS,” Rubin said. While it took the offense about a quarter to get rolling, the M-A defense was on top of its game from the outset. Goalie Emily Dorst, who was named PAL Goalie of the Year, finished with 14 saves while her teammates came up with 16 steals. Offensively, the Bears managed only two goals in the opening seven minutes but followed that with four in the second period, four in the third and three more in the fourth. “[In the quarterfinals] we came out real fast,” Rubin said of the Bears’ 17-4 mauling of No. 9 Salinas. “You always like to jump out quick, but we had good second, third and fourth periods.” Six different players scored for M-A (23-3) against Los Altos, led by Rebecca Dorst’s four tallies, including two on 5-meter penalty shots. Dorst was named the PAL’s Most Valuable Player. Vanessa Lane added three goals while Hannah Breen and Morgan Leech each chipped in with two goals apiece. Sarah Winters and Maddie Mayerson also got in on the goal-scoring party with a goal each. M-A scored first and never trailed but the Bears led only 2-1 after one period. Los Altos (24-4) tied the match at 2 less than 30 seconds into the second period and the score stayed tied until Leech scored her first goal midway through the second for a 3-2 advantage. Leech made it two in a row about 40 seconds later to give the Bears a two-goal cushion, but it was short-lived as the Eagles cut their deficit back to one with a goal with 2:24 to go before halftime. Over the final two minutes of the half, however, the Bears opened up their biggest lead of the match to that point. Rebecca Dorst gave M-A a 5-3 lead with 1:34 left in the half when she received a pass in the hole, held off a defender and somehow got a shot off and around the Los Altos goalie, who had come out of the goal to go for the steal. Neither of the Los Altos players stopped Dorst and her shot floated into the empty net. With 15 seconds before half, the Bears made it 6-3. Following a steal, Lane took a short pass and swam the length of the pool and scored. Los Altos scored early in the third to get within 6-4 but the Bears pulled away with four unanswered goals to end the period. The fourth period was a mere formality, yet the Bears still out-scored the Eagles 3-1 to end the match. Despite having a comfortable lead for most of the second half, the Bears never let off the accelerator. They constantly pressured the Eagles, coming up with turnovers and they continued to push the pace offensively, which resulted in a number of easy goals. “Ultimately, that’s our goal — to keep the pace fast,” Rubin said. “I can’t imagine any team wanting to keep up with our tempo.”