The girls varsity water polo team defeated the Menlo-Atherton Bears 11-10 in a thriller CCS quarterfinal match Saturday at Paly.
The match was played on a wet, Saturday afternoon and the cold weather definitely affected the outcome of the game. The stands were overflowing with Paly and Menlo-Atherton water polo fans for the crucial CCS game.

Chesnie Cheung (‘20) was able to win the sprint and secure the first possession for the Vikings. The Vikings were quick to capitalize, with an early goal from Sabrina Hall (‘18). Not long after, Sophie Frick (‘18) was able to do the same, taking advantage of an early mis-match in set. Offensively, it was clear that the Vikings were gaining momentum. By the end of the first quarter, Hall was able to score two more times, earning her earliest hat-trick ever.

“We had a really strong showing in the first half, but at halftime, our coach stressed the importance of maintaining that momentum into the second half,” Hall said.

The Vikings were quick to score their first goal of the second half, with another quick goal from Frick. Despite a sizable lead (7-3 at halftime), the Vikings were able to maintain their first-half intensity, and bring the score to 10-6 by the end of the third quarter.

By the end of the fourth quarter, the Menlo-Atherton offense had began to show some life, and was able to tie the game (10-10) with 3:12 left in the last quarter of play. Not long after, each team exercised all of their available timeouts, as each subsequent possession would be vital to the outcome of the game.