And then there were two.
The Sacred Heart Prep boys’ and girls’ water polo teams, fresh off winning another Central Coast Section Open Division title, began defense of their Northern California Division I championships with first-round wins in the regional tournament Tuesday.
But the other county team still playing, fifth-seeded Menlo School which was the defending Nor Cal Division II champion, saw its season come to an end with a 15-11 loss to No. 4 De La Salle in Concord Tuesday evening.
Menlo (21-9) was playing catch up from the start, trailing 4-1 after the first period and DLS (21-6) made that lead stand up the rest of the way. The Knights got back into the game with a four-goal second period to trail 6-5 at halftime, but the Spartans regained control of the match with a six-goal third period that gave them a 12-8 lead going into the fourth and Menlo could not get over the hump.
Adam Afar rebounded from a tough CCS finals match to lead the Knights with four goals and two assists. Calvin Barad and Hunter Coleman each netted hat tricks, as they combined for six ejections of DLS players. Menlo goalie Connor Burks ended his high school career with 10 saves and four steals.
The SHP boys (22-6), the defending Nor Cal Division I champs and the top seed this season, knocked off No. 8 San Ramon Valley (16-11), 16-10. The Gators got off a strong start, shutting out the Wolves 3-0 in the first period before pouring it on in the second with six goals to lead 9-4 at halftime.
The break did not slow SHP’s roll, as the Gators outscored SRV 5-4 in the third to lead 14-8 and were not pushed in the fourth.
SHP 2-meter man Oliver Marcin had a big game, scoring a match-high six goals on 10 shots. The Gators’ two point men, Gates Gamble and Clay Carrington, combined for eight goals, with Gamble firing home five.
Recommended for you
Up next for SHP is a rematch with DLS at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Atherton. The two met in an exhilarating 2024 Division I championship game, with the second-seeded Gators pulling out a 9-7 win over the top-seeded Spartans. The two teams met in a non-league game Oct. 25, with DLS coming away with a 12-9 victory.
In the other half of the Division I bracket, No. 2 Miramonte-Orinda (23-6) took down No. 7 Rio American0-Sacramento (24-9), 17-12. the Matadors will host rival and third-seeded Campolindo-Moraga (22-7), which beat sixth-seeded Soquel (23-6), 13-10.
Miramonte and Campolindo are separated by about a mile and is one of the most competitive rivalries in the Bay Area.
The SHP girls (28-2), the defending Division I champs and the No. 2 seed, also advanced to the semifinals, escaping with a 6-5 win over No. 7 Miramonte (16-13). The Gators will now host No. 3 Acalanes-Lafayette (22-5), which got a one-goal win over No. 6 Soquel (20-10), 13-12. The Gators beat Acalanes 7-6 in a non-league match Oct. 25.
On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded Carondelet-Concord (26-1) — which is across the street from De La Salle, held off eighth-seeded San Ramon Valley (20-9), 13-12. The Cougars will now host No. 5 Arroyo Grande (27-7) in the other semifinal. Arroyo Grande knocked off No. 4 Campolindo (20-9).
SHP and Carondelet met twice during the regular season, splitting the games — Carondelet won 6-4 Sept. 6, with SHP returning the favor with an 8-7 win Oct. 25.
SHP beat Carondelet 11-4 for the 2024 Nor Cal Division I title.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.