The Lady Dons returned to action in the pool with a trip to Las Lomas almost 18 months after their last game – the triumphant CIF final that capped off a second unbeaten season. It was an experienced team that traveled to the Knights with 6 seniors and a junior in the starting line-up. However, just in case there was any complacency, Las Lomas started fast and scored early to take the lead. The Dons hit back and Alana McCartney drew a 5 meter penalty that Heidi Heffelfinger converted before two goals from Claire Rowell, both assisted by Heffelfinger, gave them a 3-1 lead. McCartney made it 4 after chasing down a trademark long pass from goalie Ava Donleavy. It looked like it was going to be plain sailing for the Dons but some sloppy defending and tenacious play from Las Lomas kept the game tight. McCartney scored her second with some strong work in close after an assist by Sara Archer and Alexa Carter converted after an assist by Heffelfinger, but Las Lomas kept scoring and after the first quarter the score was 6-4 to the Dons.
The Dons continued to struggle with their defensive discipline in the second quarter and despite scoring four more times with scores from Rowell, Heffelfinger, Rowell (again) and McCartney – assisted by Heffelfinger, Rowell, Alex Mould and Carol Schirmer – Las Lomas scored 5 and pulled back to 10-9 at half time. It had been an uneven half for the Lady Dons with their overall game showing signs of rust from the long break. They were finding it easy to score but they were lacking concentration and their defense was sloppy.
The Dons tightened things up in the third quarter and pulled away from Las Lomas. An early goal from Rowell, after another long pass from Donleavy, was followed by a 5 meter penalty shot – drawn by Schirmer and scored by Heffelfinger. The Dons continued with fast breaks and hard work inside and scored three more times with two goals from McCartney and another from Rowell. It was 15-10 at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter saw the Dons ease to victory with further goals from McCartney, Rowell and Heidi Heffelfinger and a first goal from freshman, and latest member of the Heffelfinger family to play water polo for Acalanes, welcome Wendy. There was just time left for Audrey Cox to save a Las Lomas 5 meter penalty shot before the game ended at 19-14 for the Dons. A final count saw 7 goals for Claire Rowell, 6 for Alana McCartney, 4 for Heidi Heffelfinger and one each for Alexa Cox and Wendy Heffelfinger. Alex Mould provided 4 assists and Heidi Heffelfinger 3, with one each from McCartney, Archer, Miller, Schirmer, Rowell and Maizie O’Hare. Heidi Heffelfinger and Alex Mould both made two steals with one from Emma Miller. Ava Donleavy made seven saves and Audrey Cox made two.
The second game for the Lady Dons was a visit to San Ramon Valley High School, a school with a strong water polo tradition. Once again the Dons took an experienced team and showed their depth by giving a first start to Sophomore, Sara Archer. The Dons started fast and soon had a six-on-five powerplay after Claire Rowell drew an exclusion on the SRV #6. A pass in from Alex Mould saw Rowell score and that was soon repeated with another pass in from Mould leading to another goal from Rowell. At this stage it was one way traffic and a pass from Alana McCartney set up Carol Schirmer to score the third. San Ramon snatched one back but with less than three minutes played Rowell grabbed her third after a pass from Emma Miller. Acalanes continued to dominate and before the quarter had ended Schirmer had her second and Mould had given her third assist for Rowell’s fourth goal. It was 6-1 at the end of the first quarter.
The Dons continued to dominate in the second quarter but the rate of scoring slowed. Alana McCartney drew a 5 meter penalty shot that Rowell converted for her fifth goal before Rowell raced onto a long pass from goalie Ava Donleavy to score her sixth. It was 8-1 to the Dons at half time.
The third quarter started slowly before San Ramon got their second. Acalanes responded quickly with Rowell scoring another after an assist by Schirmer. Heidi Heffelfinger then chased down a long pass from substitute goalie Audrey Cox to score her first. The quarter finished with an eighth goal for Rowell from an assist by Miller. It was 11-2 to Acalanes after three quarters.
The fourth quarter started slowly with the game all but over. The Lady Dons eventually scored when McCartney set up Heffelfinger to score making it 12-2. The Dons then sat back and allowed San Ramon Valley to dictate foe the last few minutes before the game finished with a 12-6 win for the Dons. Final statistics saw eight goals for Claire Rowell, two for Carol Schirmer and two for Heidi Heffelfinger. Alex Mould had four assists, with two for Alana McCartney and Emma Miller and one for Schirmer, Donleavy and Cox. Alex Mould and Claire Rowell both made made two steals with one each for McCartney, Forschler, Archer and Miller. Ava Donleavy made five saves and Audrey Cox three saves. The next game is away to Campolindo on Wednesday.