The Acalanes Varsity water polo team headed to Menlo Park for the Amanda MacDonald Tournament. Being the first travel tournament of the year, spirits were high and the girls were excited to play some polo!
Acalanes vs. Gunn High School
First up, the Lady Dons vs. Gunn High School. Acalanes got right to work with a great pass from junior Sara Williams to senior Levand Koopah who got the Dons on the scoreboard. Levand followed that up with another goal and junior Ella Del Rosario sent her first goal to the back of the cage. Junior Olivia Whipple kept the excitement going with two great steals. Sara Williams earned a 5-meter penalty and scored her first goal of the game. Freshman duo, Malin Stone and Lily Briones teamed up with a quick pass from Lily to Malin to goal. The quarter ended with a gorgeous Hail Mary goal from half-court by Sara Williams to end the quarter 5-0
Quarter 2 started with a great pass from junior Estelle Block to Ella Del Rosario for her second of the game. Sara Williams continued her dominance at the cage and scored her third earning a hat trick! Sophomores Finley Graff and Santana Tamayo each got their first goals of the game to end the quarter 10-1 Acalanes.
Gunn wasn’t ready to throw in the towel and they came out fired up and scored their first goal of the game to start the third quarter. Finley added two more goals earning her hat trick and Malin Stone scored her second of the game, ending the quarter 13-2. Sophomore goalie Adelyn Horciza did a great job defending her goal by allowing zero goals for the first half.
The final quarter started with a goal from senior Ellie Budke and a great steal from Estelle Block. Gunn was able to send one more in the twine, but freshman Kylie Kaplan ended the quarter with her first goal of the tournament! The final score was 14-3, a great way to start the weekend.
Acalanes vs. Marin Academy
The Lady Dons knew Marin Academy was a tough opponent so they knew they needed to lock in early and that’s exactly what they did. Ella Del Rosario earned a 5-meter penalty to get the Dons on the board. The next play Ella passed the ball up to Sara Williams who scored her first of the game only to add her second a few minutes later! Lily Briones tossed a great pass to Levand Koopah who was able to capitalize. Finley Graff ended the quarter with her first of the game ending the quarter 5-0 Acalanes.
Marin Academy showed everyone they came to play in the second quarter. They scored first to get on the scoreboard. Ella Del Rosario responded with a goal thanks to a great assist from Lily Briones. Marin Academy sent another to the back of the cage, but Ella responded with two more goals before the quarter ended with a score of 8-2. The third quarter was similar to the second with M.A. continuing to fight and scoring two more goals and Acalanes keeping the pressure on with goals from both Ella Del Rosario and Malin Stone. The final quarter of the game started with a goal from Finley Graff but Marin Academy responded with one of their own. Olivia Whipple ended the quarter with a great cross-cage goal to end the game with a score of 14-6.
Acalanes vs. Santa Cruz
The Lady Dons powered up with breakfast and headed to Menlo College to play Santa Cruz. It was clear from the first minute of the game that Acalanes had eaten their Wheaties with a quick goal from Finley Graff. Levand followed it with her first goal and then stole the ball on the next play which resulted in goal #2 for Finley. Goaltender Adelyn Horciza was on FIRE with 5 saves in the first quarter and a 3-0 lead for Acalanes.
Santa Cruz was able to score in second quarter, but the Dons responded with Ella sending a sweet pass into Finley who sent one in from set. Lily Briones continued the streak with her first of the game and Ella Del Rosario scored her first to end the quarter 6-1.
The second half of the game included great steals from Olivia Whipple and goalie Adelyn Horciza. Ella earned a hit trick after two more goals! Freshman Lucy McShane was a wall with 5 saves in quarter 3. Santa Cruz fought back in Q4 with three goals, but the Lady Dons continued to play their game with steals from senior Kate Roberts and Ellie Budke. Final score 10-4.
Championship Game: Acalanes vs. Menlo College
It was 4:15pm and the Lady Dons were facing the Menlo School Knights for the championship. The Dons came strong with a great goal from Ella Del Rosario, but the Knights came back quicker than any other team in the tournament and tied the game 1-1. The next goal was another display of teamwork by Sara Williams to Ella Del Rosario. But the Knights responded by sending a ball to the back of the twine which tied up the game at the end of the quarter.
The fire had been lit and the Dons weren’t slowing down. Finley Graff scored another to earn her hat trick and Levand Koopah had a great steal and goal to add another to her tally. Olivia Whipple earned a penalty shot which Finley Graff sent into the twine. Menlo added one more to the scoreboard, but the Dons responded with two more goals from Levand and Finley. Ella Del Rosario ended the quarter with a bounce shot goal bringing the score 13-6.
The Dons were ready to claim their title and hustle back to Lafayette in time for HOCO! Finley got a great pass from Ella and sent the ball to the back of the net. Ella added one more for good measure and Olivia Whipple scored her second goal of the game. Menlo was able to score a few more times but Santana Tamayo ended the game with a final goal to win the championship game with a score of 17-8! Menlo fought hard, played well, and even wished the Lady Dons a great Homecoming in their cheer. A great way to end the tournament!
What’s Up Next?
The Lady Dons are heading to Concord to face the Carondelet Cougars this afternoon. Varsity plays at 4 pm and Junior Varsity plays at 5 pm. The more blue we have in the stands the better so come out and cheer on your Acalanes women’s water polo teams!