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October 16, 2009
Matt Moore
In the first weekend of October, the Washington boys water polo team came, saw and conquered four teams in two days at the Contra Costa Water Polo Tournament, establishing them as a force to be reckoned with throughout NCS. The team dominated formidable opponents such as California High School and Livermore High School, scoring 49 goals total while holding their opponents to a mere 17. This accomplishment was made even more impressive due to the fact that last year, both Cal High and favorite-to-win Livermore were ranked well above our school, but as the Contra Costa Tournament showed, it’s a whole different ball game this year.
The first day of competition was marred by controversy. Although the day got started on an excellent note with Washington decimating Berkeley High School, 22-1, the late afternoon game against Novato proved to be a vicious battle. Washington coach Gene Kendall received a red card, barring him from finishing the game and from coaching the subsequent game. Not only that, but the Novato team repeatedly choked WHS players and went unpunished. At one point in the game, the Novato team was credited with an extra point, despite protestations from both teams that the score was incorrect. In spite of the adversity, Washington prevailed 13-7 and moved onto the semi-finals, where they faced Cal High, who were ranked seventh last year at NCS, well above the Washington team ranked at sixteenth.
In the semifinals, Washington’s incredible improvement since last year was obvious. In every aspect of the game, our boys water polo team proved to be superior, scoring more points while rendering Cal High’s offense completely ineffective.
It feels great to beat Cal High since they were ranked higher last year. It’s going to look good in the post-season. We played a really solid team-oriented game,” junior Dillon Green said.
In the finals, Washington was the underdog against Livermore, a team that many suspected to win, and who the Huskies acknowledged as a tough opponent.
I think that if we play our best we can beat Livermore,” senior Seth Neumann said.
Anticipation was high, especially since surprise was widespread amongst Livermore parents that Washington had made it this far. They were even further astonished as the Huskies demolished their offense, ensuring that until the last two minutes, they held Livermore to only two points, whereas Washington scored seven goals. When the game ended 7-5, Washington’s win, Livermore players and parents looked bewildered and confused that they lost to a team they expected to come in third or even fourth place, but ended up winning the tournament.
After all the crowds had left and all the pictures taken, Kendall, who was able to coach the final game, had only praise for the way the Huskies had carried themselves, and his belief in what the team can accomplish:
This tournament showed we were an elite team. These games weren’t squeakers, some five to four desperation shot wins. We handled them,” Kendall said.
With this important tournament win, the team is projected to be a possible top six team at NCS championships this year. More importantly, they have also proved to the league and to themselves that they can compete with the best, and succeed, no matter what challenges lie on the road ahead.
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