The Lady Dons packed their bags and headed down to Atherton for the weekend to play in the 2023 NorCal Invitational Water Polo Tournament. The first opponent was Davis High School. The Lady Dons have not faced Davis this season. It was a slow start for both teams with lots of bar shots. Things began to pick up in the last two minutes of the quarter when Senior Brooklyn Plomp scored to get the Dons on the board. This was followed by goals from both senior Sophie Hendrickson and sophomore Ella Del Rosario giving the Dons a 3-0 lead. The second quarter had more great shooting by freshman Finley Graff, and two more goals by Sophie Hendrickson. Davis got on the board with a goal of their own, but Brooklyn responded with two more tally marks for the Dons bringing the score to 8-1 Acalanes. Davis came out strong in the third quarter adding two more goals, but Ella Del Rosario sunk another one bringing the score to 9-3 at the end of the quarter. Davis wasn’t giving up and scored the first goal of the fourth quarter, but Finley Graff capitalized on a powerplay to bring the score to 10-4. The game ended with a 5-meter penalty shot that Brooklyn Plomp skipped into the goal. Acalanes took their first win of the tournament with a score of 11-6.
At 6 p.m., the Lady Dons were back in the pool ready to take on Soquel for the second time this season. Acalanes lost to Soquel back in September but were missing key members of the squad so the team was feeling confident they would prevail this time around. Senior sprinter Liv Hoppe flew off the wall when the whistle blew and gained possession for the Lady Dons. However, the Dons weren’t able to capitalize and the Soquel Knights were the first to score. Liv Hoppe tied the game by sinking a goal in for Acalanes but the Knights liked leading and scored twice more bringing the score to 3-1 in favor of Soquel. Senior Wendy Heffelfinger didn’t like trailing by two goals and sent a gorgeous shot to the back of the cage bringing the Dons within one goal. Soquel scored again, but Ella Del Rosario ended the quarter with her first goal of the game bringing the score to 4-3. Acalanes came out strong in the second quarter with a great goal from Finley Graff that tied up the game. A few minutes later, Ella Del Rosario sent her second goal flying into the net to take the lead! Soquel wasn’t backing down and tied the game up once again, but it didn’t last long as Finley Graff sent a solid shot cross-cage to snag back the lead. Brookly kept the rally going by scoring on a powerplay and Ella earned a hat trick to end the quarter with a score of 8-5. The battle continued in the final quarter with another goal by Sophie Hendrickson and one more for Ella Del Rosario and Brooklyn Plomp. Soquel continued to fight and earned three more goals of their own. However, Sophie Hendrickson ended the game with her second goal of the game to seal the 12-10 win and a spot in the semi-finals against Lamorinda rival Miramonte.
Less than a month ago, the Acalanes Dons defeated the Miramonte Mats on their home turf with a score of 9-8. Three days ago, the Mats beat the Dons 10-9 in their second league game. To say the stands were buzzing with excitement, anticipation, and a lot of nerves is an understatement.
Miramonte came out strong scoring two back-to-back goals in the first few minutes. The whitewater was epic as both teams battled, drew fouls, and earned exclusions. Sophomore Levand Koopah was able to score the first Aca goal and get the Lady Dons back on track. Sophie Hendrickson stole the ball and Ella Del Rosario was able to earn her first goal which tied the game. Wendy Heffelfinger wasn’t happy with the tie so she sent one flying to the back of the net, gaining the lead to end the first quarter. The second quarter started when the first ended, another beautiful shot and goal for Wendy Heffelfinger! Miramonte shot several times by Freshman Adelyn Horciza was ON FIRE and blocked every one of them. Ella Del Rosario sent another ball to the back of the net giving Acalanes a 3-goal lead. Miramonte was able to get one more goal in before the buzzer rang for halftime. The third quarter started with some nice teamwork, a goal by Finley Graff who was assisted by Sophie Hendrickson. Ella Del Rosario also received a great pass from Sophie and earned another Aca goal which brought the score to 7-3. Miramonte was starting to get frustrated but was able to earn one more goal that was answered quickly with Wendy Heffelfinger’s hat trick to end the quarter with a score of 8-4. The fourth quarter started with a goal for Miramonte but Brooklyn Plomp wanted to end this match with a solid win and earned her first goal of the game. Finley Graff drew a 5-meter penalty shot and Ella capitalized on that bringing the score to 10-5. The Mats were able to find the net once more, but so was Finley Graff who shot the last goal of the game with less than a minute left to play. When the final buzzer sounded, the Acalanes fans cheered for their girls who had battled it out with integrity, respect, courage, and compassion!
The tournament finals! The Acalanes Dons versus the Sacred Heart Gators. The sun was shining as the last game started. The Lady Dons started out with great goals from Liv Hoppe and Wendy Heffelfinger but the Lady Dons were spent from their epic battle and win against Miramonte. Ella Del Rosario also had a strong goal but it wasn’t enough to take down the Gators. The Lady Dons are proud of their second-place finish in the 2023 NorCal Invitational, their best finish since 2019.
Wednesday night, the Acalanes Dons will honor their 7 seniors at 5:45 pm and then play their last home game of the regular season against the Campolindo Cougars. The Lady Dons are looking forward to a packed house as they take on the Cougars on their home turf! Come out at join the fun at 6 pm!
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
5:45 pm Senior Ceremony
6:00 pm- Varsity vs. Campo
7:00 pm JV vs. Campo