The girls water polo team overpowered the Woodside Wildcats 9-4 on Wednesday evening, securing their place as PAL champions for the third year in a row.
The stands were packed with students and family members holding posters and signs to cheer on M-A against their top rivals. The match was highly anticipated, as it would determine who would win the PAL title.
The Bears got to a quick start, winning the sprint and dominating the pool. A powerful shot by senior Captain Molly Gray put the first points on the board just 30 seconds into the game.
Strong defense by M-A forced a missed shot by Woodside, but the Wildcats managed to sneak a goal past sophomore goalkeeper Fiona McGaraghan to tie the game 1-1 with 5:30 left in the quarter.
The Bears regained control of the game, with numerous opportunities to score, but barely missed the cage on each attempt. Both teams pushed offensively, but were continually denied by impenetrable defense from McGaraghan and Woodside’s goalkeeper. An attempted pass between the Bears was thwarted by miscommunication, allowing the Wildcats to steal possession and nail their second goal with 2:50 to go, 2-1.
In an effort to close the gap, a high pass found senior Gabby Rothstein, but it pushed her too far to the corner of the pool, leaving her unable to capitalize and ending the first quarter with M-A trailing 2-1.
“Our goal was to go out super hard in the first quarter,” junior Harper Williams said. “We did, but we could have pushed harder even more.”
The second quarter began with the Wildcats winning the sprint, but a strong block by McGaraghan quickly gave the Bears possession. M-A narrowly missed a shot just wide of the cage, leading to a succession of rapid, alternating possessions. Both teams fought for control, occasionally breaking through the defense, but all shot attempts by M-A and Woodside were to no avail.
To break the dry spell, the Bears finally managed to find an opportunity off a blocked Woodside shot. The play gave senior Scarlett Shenk open water in front of the cage and the opportunity to fire a powerful strike past the Woodside goalkeeper. This evened the game at 2-2 with two minutes on the clock.
Using their momentum, Shenk regained possession of the ball and fired a long shot that found the back of the cage to give M-A the lead back, 3-2. The crowd erupted, with the electric atmosphere giving the Bears a surge of confidence.
Just a few seconds later, Williams forced an interception and delivered the ball to junior Sarah Coolican*, who sank a short shot in the goal to further the Bears’ lead to 4-2. The Wildcats attempted to respond, but solid defense by the Bears prevented Woodside from scoring, ending the second quarter with M-A leading 4-2.
“I think we realized that we had the momentum the whole game. We just needed to keep putting shots on the cage and have a little more patience with our selection, so that we could really take the best shots and make them in the net,” senior Captain Sabine Polly said.
M-A won the sprint to start the second half and immediately picked up where they left off. The Bears found multiple chances to score, but key saves by Woodside’s goalkeeper denied M-A from advancing their lead.
An impressive pass from Rothstein to Polly resulted in a goal, but it was waved off due to a two-meter violation on Rothstein. Refusing to be discouraged, Coolican followed up with a clean shot in the center of the cage to increase the Bears’ advantage to 5-2 with 3:25 to go in the quarter.
M-A took over the game, with Shenk feeding the ball to Gray for a goal. Shenk then assisted again to Coolican, who found the cage to give the Bears a comfortable 7-2 lead with 2:22 remaining.
Woodside struggled to retaliate while the Bears only increased their intensity. A missed attempt by the Wildcats allowed Shenk to skip a shot past the goalkeeper and into the goal. In the closing seconds, Coolican shot the ball just out of the goalkeeper’s reach, ending the third quarter with M-A leading 9-2 and sending the stands into a frenzy of cheers.
“It was a great feeling to shut them out for two quarters after that initial seven minutes,” Polly said. “I think part of the reason why it was slow, at least for me, was the nerves. I just needed to realize that I know how to play again.”
Woodside secured first possession off the sprint to start the fourth quarter, desperate to chip away at M-A’s lead. However, the Bears were persistent, denying the Wildcats’ shots and offensive efforts. Woodside didn’t let up, breaking through with a shot that deflected off McGaraghan into the cage to bring the score to 9-3 with 4:37 on the clock.
Fueled by the crowd’s excitement, M-A continued to dominate the game, only allowing for one deep shot by Woodside to slip in the goal past their defense, narrowing the gap to 9-4 with 3:03 remaining in the game.
The Bears locked down defensively, forcing turnovers and preventing the Wildcats from taking any further shots. The game ended in a commanding Bears victory, 9-4.
“I think it means a lot to the seniors, but also to the whole team, because it’s Lauren’s last year coaching, so giving her that championship PAL win also meant a lot to both us and to coach,” Rothstein said.
Claiming the top position in league play, the Bears will now enter CCS as they await their seeding.
*Sarah Coolican is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
