NorCal water polo championships 2024: Sacred Heart Prep girls, boys capture Division I titles
Boys water polo
Division I
No. 2 Sacred Heart Prep 9, No. 1 De La Salle 7
ATHERTON — On the biggest stage and in front of its home crowd, Sacred Heart Prep wasn’t going to walk away with second place medals.
After losing a tight game to De La Salle in the regular season, SHP got its revenge as the Gators defeated the Concord school 9-7 to capture the CIF NorCal Division I title for the fourth consecutive year.
“I’m just so proud of this team,” said SHP senior Nelson Harris. “We lost to De La Salle earlier in the season, so it’s just so great to come back. We worked so hard and we put our hard work to the test by beating them on the biggest stage.”
Nelson led SHP with a team-high four goals and sophomore Gates Gamble had three goals. Murdoch Baker-Matsuoka was a standout as SHP’s goalkeeper, recording 13 saves.
De La Salle senior Lukas Peters totaled four goals in the loss.
“This championship just keeps setting a new standard,” said SHP head coach Brian Kreutzkamp. “I keep telling them ‘Don’t think this is normal because it’s not.’ It’s just the standard that the seniors keep passing down to the next group and the next group, and I promise you, the next group is going to be just as hungry.”
The teams played even throughout the first half with the Gators taking a 6-5 lead going into halftime. But it all flipped in the second half.
After Peters scored a goal 12 seconds into the second half to tie the game at six, SHP went on a 3-0 run to the end the period, highlighted by two goals from Harris and a power play score from junior Clay Carrington.
De La Salle got another score from Peters in the fourth quarter, but that’s all the Spartans’ offense could muster in the final minutes as SHP walked away with the win.
“This was just huge,” Harris said. “The feeling of going out a winner is unbelievable. I’m just so happy and proud of everyone.
Division II
No. 2 Menlo School 12, No. 5 Clovis 6
For the full 28 minutes of Saturday’s championship match, Menlo was in the driver’s seat.
The Knights put on an offensive display, beating Clovis 12-6 to capture its first NorCal title. According to head coach Jack Bowen, it’s the first NorCal title Menlo has won across any sport in the school’s history.
Freshman Hunter Coleman scored a game-high five goals. Adam Afar and Calvin Barad each scored twice for Menlo and goalkeeper Connor Burks had 12 saves.
“We were looking before the game at the spot the banner would be in our gym,” said senior captain Jackson Coleman. “We felt like we had nothing to lose, even though it was the title game and we played like it. It’s a special feeling.”
Menlo got off to a 7-3 lead in the first half and didn’t look back. The Knights’ combination of speed and physicality looked to have worn down Clovis through the course of the match.
For Bowen, the win was a testament to the culture his players built this season.
“I wanted them to see what it would be like to be a part of history,” Bowen said. “The culture is amazing. The guys are amazing. The parent group is amazing. Menlo is supportive. Our goal was to be our best and we accomplished that here.”
Division III
No. 1 Ripon 16, No. 3 Los Altos 10
Ripon got off to a hot start and didn’t look back as the Indians defeated Los Altos to capture the Division III title.
Ripon took a 6-1 lead in the first period behind quick scoring from McKeane Beier and Brody Biedermann who each scored three goals.
Senior William O’Shaughnessy led Los Altos with five goals and junior Ferran de Witt had four.
Girls water polo
Division I
No. 1 Sacred Heart Prep 11, No. 2 Carondelet 4
SHP’s girls team set the stage for the Division I sweep, crushing Carondelet 11-4 just an hour before the boys team took the pool.
The Gators captured their first NorCal title and were the first team outside of the East Bay to win the NorCal Division I crown since the tournament started in 2017.
“To have this moment here is just so special,” said Vivian Golub. “This is the pool where we’ve done swim sets, where I literally thought I was going to cry and where we put in all our hard work. So to win it here is definitely emotional and definitely really special.”
Both teams went at each other throughout the first half. After two quarters, SHP led just 5-3.
But the game turned early in the second half.
The Gators got two goals from Golub and scores from Kiernan Hogan and Natalia Szczerba to take a commanding 9-4 lead going into the fourth.
The Gators defense was solid throughout the second half with goalkeeper Ellison Brush recording 12 saves, five of which came in the fourth period.
“We just stuck with what we put forward,” said SHP coach Jamie Frank. “We tried to mark up on their leading scorers. We were really just kind of hitting their strengths with our strengths, and we were better today.”
Golub ended Saturday’s match with a game-high five goals while Hogan added three.
SHP will graduate five seniors, including Golub. Golub said the bond she built with this team is something she will take with her even after she graduates.
“I know this is my last year with this group of people, and I’m gonna miss them so much next year,” she said. “It’s definitely very bittersweet, where like, I’m sad to be seeing them this last time but very happy and so proud of this team. I’m just really proud of everyone.”
Division II
No. 5 San Ramon Valley 12, No. 2 Stevenson 10
The Wolves captured their first-ever NorCal title, beating Stevenson in a back-and-forth match.
Up just a goal after three quarters, SRV exploded in the fourth as it outscored the Pirates 3-1 to seal the win.
Olivia Anderson led SRV with four goals and senior Natalie Buck had three goals.
“It feels good,” Anderson said. “We worked really hard to get here.”