Archie Williams Boys Varsity Water Polo falls short to Tamalpais in an intense game

On Sept. 14, the Archie Williams Boys Varsity Water Polo team had their second game of the MCAL season coming off a win against San Rafael a day prior. The Falcons took on the Tamalpais Hawks at the Archie Williams pool.

The Hawks were dominant from the start, but the Falcons clawed their way back in an attempt to keep their 3-0 winning streak going. Archie Williams ended up losing 11-8 in an intense matchup.

Archie Williams junior Jacob Carrera holds the ball away from a Tam defenseman. (Silas Eyler)

The Hawks came out strong and established an early 2-0 lead halfway into the first quarter. It was a close matchup to begin but in the end the Hawks offense took charge, commanding a 3-0 lead

In the second quarter, Tam continued to put pressure on Archie Williams

and scored two more goals to bring the score to 5-0. But the Falcons weren’t done yet, and junior Hayden Long scored a goal which gave Archie Williams the momentum going into halftime.

After halftime, Archie Williams was determined to put some away against Tam, but the Hawks scored a quick goal at the start of the third quarter. Two goals from freshman Nate Greenburg and junior Jacob Carrera, put the Falcons down by only two points. Tam scored three more goals in the third quarter, but sophomore Nolan Anderson got one back, making it 9-5 finishing the quarter.

“I think breaking their zone defense. I mean that’s like in every sport, zone defense kind of kills and makes you shoot outside,” Jacob said. “So if we could kind of figure out ways to break that and make them go into like a one-on-one, I think we’ll be a little bit better there.”

Archie Williams junior Whitman Flake attempts to shoot on the goalie for the Hawks. (Silas Eyler)

With momentum going into the fourth quarter, junior Max Guana scored right off the bat to make the score 9-6, with the Falcons fighting their way back into the game. Tam wouldn’t let up, scoring another two goals, but not before Hayden put two more in the back of the net. In the end, Archie Williams couldn’t find a way back, and the Falcons lost 11-8.

“I was proud of my kids, and you know the effort is all there. And when you’re short-handed, you know, you ask a lot out of the kids, but I thought they played well,” said Falcons Boys Varsity Water Polo coach Matt Swansen.

The Falcons hope to bounce back from the loss and continue to improve in the MCAL season, with their next game against San Marin Sept. 20.