Paly boys’ water polo defeated the Mountain View Spartans 7-5 on Friday at home in the second round of the SCVAL tournament.
Late in the season, the Vikings have found the experience from each game has helped them become a strong team leading into this league tournament.
“The more games we play, the better we play together,” Lucas Novak (‘15) said.
The game started with the Mountain View Spartans winning the first sprint and a fast shot blocked by Paly goalie Jake Weinstein (‘14). Novak put the first goal in the net. Mountain View quickly retaliated with a goal to tie the score. Winston Rosati (‘16) scored the last goal of the quarter to give Paly the lead 2-1.
The second quarter started off with the Spartans winning the sprint. A goal by the Spartans brought the score to tie again at 2-2. Mountain View scored again with a 5-meter penalty shot. With 4:27 left in the quarter Sam Kelley (‘14) put up Paly’s only goal of the quarter, leaving the score 3-3 at the half.
The third started yet again with Spartans winning the first sprint. After multiple missed shots from both teams, Rosati put up a goal to give the Vikings the lead just over a minute and a half into the quarter. With 1:03 left in the quarter, Captain Omri Newman (‘14) put up a goal to increase Paly’s lead to 5-3 before the fourth quarter.
“We played really good defense and came out strong,” Newman (‘14) said.
Mountain View came into the final quarter strong by winning the sprint and putting up a goal 1:40 in. A goal by Novak, assisted by Rosati at 3:48 put the score at 6-4. With less than 2:30 left in the game, the Spartans’ coach was ejected with a red card. Rosati then put up his third goal of the night to increase the Vikings lead to three points. Despite their coach’s ejection, the Spartans came back with a goal with less than a minute left in the goal to bring the final score to 7-5, giving the Vikes the win.
Players were positive about their performance today, and they are optimistic about their game tomorrow.
“We played good defense [today], we got the win,” Novak said. “We’re gonna whoop Gunn tomorrow.”
The Vikings’ win advances them to the SCVAL championship game, where they will play the cross-town rival Gunn High School for the league title.
“We just need to come with an open mind set and play the game we know how to play,” Newman said.
Boys’ water polo will play the Gunn Titans in the SCVAL championship game on Saturday Nov. 9th at 6:00 p.m. in Viking territory.
