On Saturday, Oct. 28, the Archie Williams Falcons Boys Water Polo team competed against the Redwood Giants for the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) championship at the Marin Academy pool. The Falcons came off of a win against Terra Linda and were looking to add another title to their record but the team fell short losing the nail-biter game 11-12 in overtime.

In the first quarter, both teams struggled to get on the scoreboard. However, junior Whit Flake eventually opened the scoring for the Falcons. The Giants bounced back by scoring three straight goals to take the lead over the Falcons. Redwood’s defense was strong and the Falcons fought to break it down, with junior Hayden Long scoring for Archie Williams to end the quarter 2-3.

Hayden evened the game by scoring his second goal in the first play of the quarter. The Falcons’ defense was led by senior Goalkeeper Haakon Lacy who blocked several shots on goal. However, the Giants began to break down the Falcons defense and scored three times to further their lead. Sophomore Nolan Anderson scored for the Falcons who ended the half down 4-6.

“It all comes out of taking advantage of your opportunities and we played hard but we just missed some chances to score. We didn’t put it away,” said coach Matt Swanson.  

After the halftime break, both the Falcons and the Giants continued to play with the same drive displayed in the first half. Nolan scored for the Falcons to cut the deficit to one point. Still, the Giants splashed right back with a shot past Haakon. Freshman Nate Greenberg assisted the Falcons defense by blocking several strong shots on goal from the Giants. Both teams would go on to score one goal each making the score 6-8 entering the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter began with excitement as the Falcons came with their high-octane offense. Nate scored within the first few plays but the Giants bounced right back with a goal of their own. As the quarter came to an end, the Falcons still looked for one goal with 30 seconds left on the clock. They rallied for one final play and after much anticipation, Nate scored the equalizing goal, sending the game into overtime with the score tied at 10-10.

In overtime the Falcons defensive woes began, as the Giants scored twice with little to no offensive action made by the Falcons. Despite that, the Falcons still fought and gained confidence after junior Vincent Krilanovich scored a two-meter shot to be down one goal, with just over a minute remaining in overtime. The Falcons made one final play to attempt to even the score but their final shot missed the target, falling short and ending the game 11-12.

“All it came down to was that Redwood was able to execute at a little bit higher level then we were and all props to Redwood. We didn’t bring our best game and they really showed that,” Haakon said.

Despite the loss, the Falcons will continue their postseason in the North Coast Section (NCS) tournament. Their next game is Saturday, Nov. 4 at the Marin Academy pool and they hope to stay strong in the tournament to further their postseason.

“NCS is going to be a road, I think we’re excited, but we can’t get hung up on this for too long and we’ll go to NCS with the same mindset when we go and try to win,” Haakon said.