On Monday, Oct. 9, Archie Williams Varsity Boys Water Polo faced off against Novato High School at the Falcons’ pool. Archie Williams went into the game as the first-ranked team in the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL), and left with a victory, staying as the top team.
Coming off of their first loss in seven games, the Archie Williams boys faced pressure as they found themselves down 0-1 in the first minutes of the game. At the end of the second quarter, Archie Williams equalized the game with a score of 3-3.
After a brief talk from Falcons coach Matt Swanson, the team kept their composure and had an outstanding second quarter. Thanks to senior goalie Haakon Lacy who didn’t allow a single goal in the entire second quarter, and junior Hayden Long who netted four goals. The score started at an astonishing 10-3 going into the second half.
“We could have done better by coming out, starting off with a bang, getting ahead of them really fast and quickly, but we got there eventually, and that’s all that matters,” said sophomore Nolan Anderson.
After switching sides for the second half, Archie Williams came out with heat. Freshman Nate Greenberg, junior Whitman Flake, and junior Jacob Carrera banged in a combined five goals. Unlike the first half, the Falcons got off to a fast start that took Novato by surprise.
In the fourth quarter, the Hornets tried their best to keep up with the Falcons. Novato put up one last fight throughout the fourth quarter, scoring six consecutive goals to bring the score to 18-10.
Both teams battled the remaining game out. Sophomore goalie Joshua Dixon, boldly and impressively took the ball down the right sideline while being guarded heavily. Thanks to Joshua, the remaining time ticked down until the referee blew the final whistle.
In the end the final score was 19-11. Both teams gave a valiant effort, but in the end, the Falcons overpowered the Hornets and came out on top.
“We got off to a slow start, but we played good press defense that countered well, and we had some nice crosses that led to some good shots,” said Falcons coach Matt Swanson.
The Falcons play their next MCAL game against Marin Catholic onTuesday, October 17th at the Marin Catholic pool. Right Now Archie Williams is standing at the MCAL #1 seed with a record of 6-1. Marin Catholic is sitting at the #7 seed with a record of 1-4.
