It was a balmy 100 degrees when the Acalanes water polo teams arrived at the Carondelet Aquatic Complex. The stands were packed despite the heat and the Dons were ready for a rematch with the Carondelet Cougars after scrimmaging them back in August.

Freshman Malin Stone got right to work winning the first spring and gaining possession for Acalanes. The Dons weren’t able to capitalize on their first drive down and Carondelet ended up on the scoreboard first. Next drive down, Malin Stone sent a gorgeous shot flying to the back of the net to tie up the game 1-1. Sophomore Finley Graff sent another Aca goal in to take the lead 2-1. The Dons were on a roll, but had trouble getting the ball in the goal. Carondelet scored two more times to regain the lead. Finley Graff was having no part of that and sank another goal in right before the quarter ended to even up the score 3-3.

The Cougars were all riled up at the start of the second quarter and scored first, but Malin Stone tied the game up again with another great goal. Both teams were playing great defense and junior Ella Del Rosario managed to get a shot off from underwater with three defenders on her to take the lead 5-4. The Lady Dons didn’t let CHS score for the rest of the quarter even with several Aca exclusions. Junior Sara Williams snuck another goal in before the buzzer sounded for halftime giving Acalanes a two-goal lead with a score of 6-4.

The Dons knew the Cougars were going to fight until the last second. The third quarter was full of steals and exclusions. The Lady Dons were shooting, but the ball wasn’t finding the back of the cage. CHS, on the other hand, was able to score two more goals and tie up the game 6-6, by amthe end of the quarter.

The Dons fired themselves up and started the final quarter with a great steal from sophomore goalie, Adelyn Horciza and a shot block that echoed around the pool from Finley Graff. Freshman Malin Stone earned the lead back and her first hat trick of the season with her THIRD goal of the game! Carondelet fought back and scored another to once again tie up the game, but Olivia Whipple sent a solid shot in to regain the lead with a minute left on the clock. Carondelet had the ball and an exclusion gave them a power play…but superstar goalie Adelyn Horciza, who already had 16 saves in the game, tracked the ball and watched it go wide to give the Dons one final possession. There were 19 seconds left on the clock and the Lady Dons knew they could do it. Senior Levand Koopah passed to Olivia Whipple who passed it right back and Levand looked at the cage and released the ball. Every eye on the pool deck was watching as the ball sailed over the goalie’s head and landed in the top right-hand corner of the goal. The crowd erupted, people jumped out of their seats screaming, and the girls all hugged in the water, trying not to drown each other. The Acalanes Dons won the game with a score of 9-8.

What’s Next for the Lady Dons?

Saturday, September 28th, 2024

Acalanes Water Polo heads down to Santa Cruz for a fun afternoon of polo:

• • • • • • • 1pm Varsity vs. Stevenson Pirates
            • 2pm JV vs. Stevenson Pirates
            • 3pm JV vs. Soquel Knights
            • 4pm Varsity vs. Soquel Knights