Water polo: Archie Williams boys selected to the Open Division

The Archie Williams High boys aren’t guaranteed to face De La Salle in the North Coast Section water polo playoffs — any potential rematch between the two powers will have to wait until the Open Division finals.

“I’d like to play De La Salle again. That’s just a great matchup,” Archie Williams senior Vincent Krilanovich said after his team won the MCAL championship on Saturday.

But first, the Peregrine Falcons will have to get past the defending NCS Open champions from Miramonte.

The third-seeded Falcons (22-3) and No. 2 Matadors (15-9) meet in Saturday’s first round, with top-seeded Campolindo taking on No. 4 De La Salle in the other half of the four-team bracket.

Archie Williams will have a chance to avenge one of its very few losses this season against Miramonte. The Peregrine Falcons lost to the Matadors, 17-11, in the regular-season finale on Oct. 24.

The Peregrine Falcons lost to two-time Open Division champion De La Salle in the 2021 semifinals, and have been searching for a rematch.

Seven boys teams and seven girls teams from the MCAL advanced to the NCS playoffs, with Redwood, Marin Academy and San Domenico all acting as host sites.

Redwood (23-3) could have been placed in the Open Division by the NCS seeding committee on Sunday, if not for a loss to Archie Williams in Saturday’s MCAL championship. The Giants did get a nice consolation prize as the top seed in the NCS D-I field. The Giants will host No. 16 Alameda (18-9) in Thursday night’s opening round.

Two other MCAL playoff teams in the D-I bracket are No. 3 Tam and No. 8 Terra Linda. The Red-tailed Hawks (14-11) will face No. 14 California (12-12) on Thursday at Redwood High. The Trojans (14-11) host No. 9 Northgate (16-8) at Marin Academy.

Marin Academy, the third seed in the NCS D-II field, will host No. 14 Vintage as competition begins Wednesday. No. 7 Marin Catholic will host No. 10 Acalanes at San Domenico, and  No. 9 Novato travels to Concord to face No. 8 Clayton Valley Charter.

In the girls brackets, four MCAL teams were placed in the D-I bracket, led by MCAL champion Tam (20-6). The second-seeded Hawks will face No. 15 Bishop O’Dowd (11-8) on Thursday at Redwood High. No. 4 Archie Williams (19-5) and No. 13 Amador Valley (10-13) will meet at Marin Academy’s facility, with the nightcap featuring No. 6 Marin Academy (19-6) and No. 11 California (15-8). No. 9 Redwood (15-11) will travel to No. 8 Castro Valley (22-3) for Thursday’s opener at San Ramon Valley High.

In the NCS D-II field, No. 2 Marin Catholic (13-9) gets a rematch with No. 15 American Canyon in Wednesday’s opener at San Domenico. The Wildcats beat the Wolves 13-4 on Oct. 5. The other half of the bracket features No. 5 Terra Linda taking on No. 12 Newark Memorial at Marin Academy, and No. 9 San Marin hitting the road to play No. 8 Clayton Valley Charter.