Menlo water polo finally adds to trophy case

“Do you notice anything?” Bowen asked his team. “There are no Nor Cal banners.”

That changed Saturday afternoon. The top-seeded Knights completed a dominating run through the CIF Northern California Division II bracket, doubling up fifth-seeded Clovis, 12-6, to win the school’s first-ever Nor Cal water polo championship at Sacred Heart Prep.

Despite being one of the top programs in the CCS for the better part of two decades, the Knights haven’t had a lot to show for once they left the Peninsula Athletic League for the more powerful West Catholic Athletic League.

Their last major trophy was the 2010 CCS Division II title.

“We finally got it,” said Menlo senior captain Jackson Coleman. “This is so special. … This is my last year here. Not many get to end their season with a win.”

As it did in the Nor Cal quarterfinals, a 17-9 win over No. 7 Righetti-Santa Maria, and in the semifinals, an 11-10 win over No. 6 Rocklin, Menlo (22-10) took an early lead against Clovis and methodically pulled away.

Unlike the semifinal win over Rocklin which saw the Knights take five-goal lead into the fourth period, only to see the Thunder out score the Knights 5-1 in the quarter, the Knights never really let the Cougars back into the match once they took the lead.

“The last game, we almost slipped up,” Coleman said. “Today we said don’t let them get close.”

Menlo scored the first two goals of the match — opening the scoring when freshman Hunter Coleman pushed the ball over the goal line on a rebound of a Calvin Barad shot. Barad got his goal for a 2-0 lead before Clovis (16-8) got on the board.

Alex Stoffel pushed the lead back to two, 3-1, with a nifty flipshot over his shoulder with his back to goal, but the Cougars answered back.

But Jackson Coleman’s goal on a drive to the cage gave the Knights a 4-2 lead after the first period. Adam Afar, another of three starting freshmen, made it 5-2 early in the second and Barad got his second goal before Hunter Coleman tallied the second of his five goals on a 5-meter penalty shot for a 7-3 lead at halftime.

There would be no comeback this time. Not with Menlo goalie Connor Burks back on top of his game. After giving up a couple of soft goals in the semifinals, he stoned Clovis at nearly every turn, finishing with 13 saves — to go along with a steal and an assist.

Add to that six steals from Jackson Coleman and another solid defensive effort and another all-around excellent performance from the Knights.

“We always say it starts with defense,” Jackson Coleman said.

The third period was a back-and-forth affair with the teams combining for seven goals. Freshman Lincoln Bott deflected a Stoffel shot to put the Knights up 8-3 before Clovis answered with back-to-back goals to close to 8-5 with 4:23 left in the third period.

But the Cougars would score only one more goal over the final 11-plus minutes of the match. Hunter Coleman converted his second 5-meter penalty shot to put the Knights up 9-5, Afar scored from the right wing to go up 10-5 and Hunter Coleman scored on a restart for an 11-5 lead going into the fourth.

Hunter Coleman rounded out the scoring on a fourth-quarter fastbreak, with Burks triggering the play.

While Bowen was happy with the win, he was more impressed with his team’s performance. Win or lose, Bowen always wants his team to play its best every time they take to the pool.

“[The goal] is not that trophy or banner. … That’s never been the goal,” said an emotional Bowen. “It was to play your best. … That’s one of the best games Menlo water polo has ever played.”