September 16, 2026, Acalanes High School, Heast Aquatic Center, AKA the Beast.
Wednesday night’s game against the California High School Grizzlies was unquestionably the most exciting game of the 2026 season to date, as the Dons showed extraordinary skill and teamwork to beat back their extremely talented foe, ultimately winning 11-8. Superstar Goalie Senior Fisher “The Barrier” Bradford-Urban (aka “Fish Net”) would have been on fire if he were not in a giant pool of water, blocking a massive ELEVEN goals and grabbing one Steal to bring his Team to victory! Bradford-Urban was also named the MaxPreps “Player of the Game” for this exciting win against Cal High.
But a Goalie can’t do it alone, and the Field for this years Men’s Water Polo is the most talented that we have seen in decades. The Three Musketeers — Sophomores Borna Koopah, Gunnar Grant, and Aiden Castro — unquestionably ruled the pool with their skilled maneuvering and laser accurate shots. Borna “Legend” Koopah (a frequent MaxPreps “Player of the Game”) brought home 4 goals and 3 steals along with 2 ejections drawn, and dazzled the crowd with his Poseidon-like ability to rise out of the water and perform H2O acrobatics — which if not resulting in a goal, at minimum confuse his flabbergasted opponents. Gunnar Grant, always a Stats leader for this team, once again showed his incredible expert consistency, sinking 3 goals into the net along with providing 1 Assist and 1 Ejection Drawn. Aiden Castro is newly returned to the pool after a month off for a wrenched phalanx, and clearly showed the rest did nothing but make him stronger delivering 2 Goals, 2 Steals, and 1 Ejection Drawn.
Senior Will “Killer” Miller also dropped 1 Goal into the net along with 1 Assist, 1 Steal, and 1 Ejection Drawn as well as giving us the Game Winning Goal, and Junior Peter Endemann showed his strength in the hole by bringing us a Goal despite being swarmed by opponents. Junior Alexandre Lavoie demonstrated enormous presence during the entire game, exhorting his Team with strong verbal cues, and leading with 3 Assists and 3 Steals. Senior Isaac Topp also cut the water with 2 Assists, 2 Steals, and 2 Ejections Drawn.
The Varsity Dons Men’s Water Polo Team heads to the Napa Valley Vintage Tournament this weekend where they are looking to defend their 1st Place victory last year, and to seek vengeance against Tamalpais (the only loss so far this season) whom they face at 9:00am on Friday as the two top seeds in the Tournament. If the Dons show the skill and coordination this weekend that they showed last night, there is no question they will bring home the Gold once again.
