The Mustangs of San Marin came to Lafayette Tuesday evening to take on the Dons. The Dons came out strong, with Caleb Mason netting the first goal. Mason quickly followed up with his second, thanks to a sharp assist from Griffin Rotundo. San Marin responded, but the Dons answered back with goals from Luke Dafferner and Brody Darin establishing an early 4-1 Dons lead. Another goal from San Marin kept them in the game as the first quarter concluded with the Dons ahead 4-2. The quarter highlighted dominant face off play by Ian Sanftner and a few good saves by younger brother and goalie Kyle Sanftner plus some solid D by Luca Premo put the Dons up 4-2 after the first quarter.
The second quarter saw Griffin Rotundo score early for the Dons, maintaining their momentum. San Marin kept the pressure on, but Jan Korzeniowski and Brody Darin each found the back of the net, giving Acalanes a 7-3 advantage heading into halftime.
The Dons came out firing in the second half with LSM Corbin Gallegos scoring quickly after a face off followed by attack Luke Dafferner scoring a goal to extend their lead to 9-3. San Marin showed their fighting spirit with a goal, making it 9-4. Caleb Mason then completed his hat trick with a goal that resembled more of a golf putt, bringing the score to 10-4 for the Dons. Jan Korzeniowski and Brody Darin added to the Acalanes tally, pushing the score to 12-4 and a seemingly dominant lead.
Some scrappy defense and loose ball pickups by Sam Bishop gave the Dons a few extra possessions but San Marin would not give in. They stayed in the fight scoring their fifth, sixth, seventh, eight, ninth, and tenth goals, five of them in the 4th quarter, and all of them unanswered by the Dons. Bringing the score to 12-10 with one minute to go. Fortunately, the clock ran out with San Marin getting hot and the Dons were able to maintain the victory defeating the Mustangs 12-10.
The Dons record for the year is a solid 10-2. Lots of action coming soon as the Dons take on Piedmont, College Park, and Campolindo all within the next week. Let’s go Dons.
