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Julian Montoya scored five goals to lead M-A past Woodside. Photo taken Sept. 20, 2021 by Rick Eymer. -
Jake Taylor made a handful of point-blank saves for M-A. Photo take Sept. 20, 2021 by Rick Eymer. -
Miles Scherer scored twice for the Bears. Photo taken Sept. 20, 2021 by Rick Eymer. -
M-A’s Jackson Garff playing defense on Woodside’s Andrew Mills. Photo taken Sept. 20, 2021 by Rick Eymer.
For the Menlo-Atherton seniors, this was personal.
Although the M-A boys water polo team won a Central Coast Section Division I title in 2019, they have yet to win a Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division title. Woodside is the defending champion.
Which made Monday’s 12-10 victory over the Wildcats all that much more special.
“Every time we’ve played them we’d choke or mess up somehow,” M-A team captain Julian Montoya said. “We always thought we were the better team and then something would happen. This was more of a personal game.”
Something did happen this time too and the Bears (6-2, 2-0) were able to overcome the mistake.
Woodside was credited with a goal when a M-A player accidentally threw the ball into the cage thinking goalie Jake Taylor was there. He wasn’t. And that goal drew the Wildcats within 7-6 in the third quarter.
Woodside’s Jake Anderson scored on the next possession and, suddenly, it was tied.
M-A rallied, scoring the next three goals to regain the advantage. Andrew Mills, who led Woodside with four goals, scored to make it 10-8 and Taylor later made a great save to keep the lead at two.
M-A’s Miles Scherer was perfectly positioned to take a rebound of a missed shot and push it into the cage for a three-goal lead. Owen Taylor made it 12-8 and pair of terrific point-blank saves from Jake Taylor made the final two Woodside goals academic.
“For the last two years, the Woodside game always snuck up on us,” Montoya said. “We might have been focused on something else. This time we were able to get past them without messing up.”
M-A’s last PAL title was in 2014 and the Bears had to beat a talented Menlo School team to do it. The Knights joined the West Catholic Athletic League in 2019, opening the door for M-A and Woodside.
Menlo or M-A won the PAL title ever year between 1993 and 2018.
Montoya led M-A with five goals, two in the final period. Owen Taylor and Scherer each added three goals. Jackson Garff also scored.
Anderson scored three times for the Wildcats (3-1, 2-1) and Max Benkard added a pair. Mason Moore also scored.
Girls water polo
Senior Lucy Worden scored three of her five goals in the fourth period and Woodside rallied for an unexpected 11-8 victory over M-A.
“I think we just decided we weren’t going to lose,” said Worden, who also had three steals. “We realized we could win.”
M-A appeared to be in control until about midway through the third quarter, when its shots on goal suddenly detoured left, right and over the posts and goalie Sophia Simpson made like an All-American in stopping several shots. She finished with eight saves and seven steals.
At the same time, everything Woodside threw up hit the mark. Two of Worden’s goals bounced off the post and into the net and Morgan Helfand somehow found the smallest of openings to slice through a score.
And just when it couldn’t get any more far-fetched, Annika Janzen was in the middle of the pool helping to run out the clock when she flipped the ball toward the net and it went in, sparking an impromptu celebration with the girls JV team in front of the Woodside bench.
“We had a plan and we executed it,” Woodside’s second-year coach Cara Skourtis said. “It was smart offense and sound defense. And some luck, which I’ll take any time.”
Arianna Gerola had a terrific all-around game. In addition to scoring twice, she recorded six steals, and played sound defense indeed.
Lizi Warren also scored twice for the Wildcats and Tara Perkins converted a penalty shot.
Whitney Allen led M-A with three goals. Ella Nelson and Amelia Peyton each scored twice and Mia Wurster also scored.
In another game, host Burlingame took care of Sequoia 15-9.
Girls tennis
Clementine Devaux and Katherine Showalter won a key matchup at No. 3 doubles to help Sacred Heart Prep beat Mitty 4-3 in a nonleague match Monday in Atherton.
Elise Ragatz won a marathon match at No. 2 singles, 6-7 (5), 7-5 (4), 10-6 to help clinch the victory for the Gators (2-5), who remain at home to play Pinewood at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Natalie Dias also recovered from a first-set loss to win at No. 1 singles 3-6, 6-0, 10-0. Sadie Goldstein won 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4 singles.
Girls golf
Sophomore Hailey Kimk earned medalist honors with a 1-under 35 in Menlo’s 228-262 victory over Notre Dame San Jose in a West Bay Athletic League match Monday at San Jose Muni.
Sophomore Chloe Lee added an even-par 36 for the Knights (4-2), who meet Sacred Heart Prep in a league match Thursday at Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club.
Joelle Kim, also a sophomore, fired a 41, senior Indira Abhyanker posted a 55 while freshmen Alexa Muchnick and Rhea Nandal each finished with a 61.
In a PAL Ocean Division match at Emerald Hills, Gianna Flores shot a 31 and Elisa Flores fired a 37 to lead Sequoia past Woodside 195-203.
Katelyn Fung recorded a 35 and Anjali Ulrich added a 37 for the Wildcats.
Girls volleyball
Mid-Peninsula downed Kehillah 25-19, 25-12, 25-13 in a Private Schools Athletic League North Division match Monday.
The Dragons (2-2) host Everest in a nonleague match Thursday at 4 p.m.
