Arguably the wildest Peninsula Athletic League boys’ water polo season came to an end Thursday and, when the dust settled, this is what we have.
Hillsdale and Woodside both won their matches and finished as co-champions of the Bay Division with 7-3 records. It is the first Bay Division polo title for the Knights and the second in three years for the Wildcats.
Just as surprising, however, was Aragon. Faced with a must-win game against perennial power Menlo-Atherton, the Dons mounted an 8-7 victory to pull into a third-place tie with the Bears, both at 6-4.
But more importantly, the win gave the Dons the season sweep of M-A, the first criteria used to determine which team would play in the PAL’s Central Coast Section play-in game.
That tiebreaker put Aragon into the play-in match and left M-A on the outside looking in. It’s the second year in a row the Dons will be in the CCS play-in game. They held on for a 9-6 win over Terra Nova and advance to CCS for the first time since the 2007 season.
The Bears will have to apply for a CCS at-large berth if their season is to continue.
“It’s really exciting to have most (of the) top teams all close in ability,” Hillsdale head coach Bryan Bent said in text message.
It was a strong finish by the Dons, who faced a brutal schedule down the stretch. In their last three games, Aragon took on all three teams ahead of them in the standings: Hillsdale, Woodside and M-A, who were all tied for first place entering the week.
Aragon lost 8-6 to Hillsdale Oct. 12. This past Tuesday, the Dons suffered a 3-0 shutout loss to Woodside.
That left the match against M-A to determine the Dons’ fate.
When the final horn sounded and the post-game handshakes were done, Aragon head coach Carly DeMarchena got to take the winner’s plunge into the pool along with the Dons’ team.
Aragon will take on Ocean Division champion Sequoia, which went undefeated through league play. The Dons and Ravens played a non-league tournament match Oct. 8, with the Dons posting a 13-8 victory.
The play-in game is at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Aragon.
While Aragon still has one match to play to determine its CCS chances, Hillsdale and Woodside have already punched their tickets to the postseason as two of PAL’s three automatic bids. Hillsdale smashed a winless Terra Nova squad, 22-9, while Woodside topped Carlmont, 5-3.
While the Knights and Wildcats will share the Bay Division title, Hillsdale was the top automatic qualifier out of the league, winning the tiebreaker against Woodside.
The two teams split their head-to-head matches with each other and with M-A.
But Hillsdale’s sweep of Aragon was better than Woodside’s split, thus, the Knights are the No. 1 seed from the Bay Division.
Hillsdale’s Bent, however, is not just happy to have qualified for the playoffs.
“We’re not done,” Bent said. “My message to the guys is, ‘three more wins.’”
In PAL girls’ polo, Bay Division champ Burlingame is the top seed out of the league, followed by Bay runner-up M-A — who both automatically qualified for CCS.
In the CCS play-in game, Woodside, the third-place team out of the Bay, will host Terra Nova at 4 p.m. Tuesday. The Tigers went a perfect 10-0 in winning the Ocean Division crown.
The CCS playoffs begin Saturday, Nov. 5.
Sports Editor
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CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
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CA Is Burning said:
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Thomas Morgan said:
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