| | Published October 15th, 2008
| Dons Fall to Seemingly Unbeatable Matadors
| | By Kaity Ferretti |  | | Photo Sheryl Cardiff
|
The Acalanes men's varsity water polo team suffered a hard loss against long-reigning champions Miramonte on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
The Dons got off to a promising start against the Matadors. As the game began, Acalanes took first possession of the ball but had their first goal shot blocked. Acalanes persevered, and junior captain Nick Hoversten shot and scored against Miramonte with 4:17 left in the first period.
The ball then turned over to Miramonte, but the Dons held strong, preventing the Matadors from taking the lead. After a couple of good blocks things picked up for the Dons, as Acalanes shot and scored while Hoversten drew a foul resulting in a Miramonte ejection. The first period ended with Acalanes in the lead 2-0.
As the Mats dominated as the second period began. Within the first two minutes, Miramonte took four shots resulting in two goals for James Perry.
Acalanes then got possession of the ball and tried for a shot twice. Mike Kimble tipped the ball off the left goal post, then Hoversten went high. The Matadors took advantage of the rebound and gained possession, scoring with 3:39 left in the second period.
Hill then made two great blocks, preventing the Matadors from scoring again. Recognizing an open hole in his defense, he came out of the goal to prevent another shot from going in, and later took a hard hit to the stomach during a block. The second period ended with Miramonte in the lead 2-3.
The third period began with Acalanes' Joe Deitrich gaining possession of the ball, then passing to Kimble, who was shortly intercepted. Miramonte scored on a subsequent interception with 5:33 remaining in the third period.
Miramonte came back again to score on the Dons 30 seconds later. Acalanes got in two more attempted shots before the Matadors intercepted the ball and scored once more with 4:21 left in the third period. In the last two and a half minutes, Hill blocked three consecutive Miramonte shots on goal, ending the period with the Matadors leading 7-3.
The game ended in a 4th period shot-fest, with Miramonte scoring 3 times and Acalanes coming back to score 4 more in an energetic catch-up attempt. The Mats prevailed, soundly defeating the Dons 10-7. Perry and Stephen Siri scored three goals apiece for Miramonte.
The Miramonte Matadors are currently 12-0 on the season, and with only a handful of games remaining before NCS competition begins in early November, look to be cruising towards yet another championship season.
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 | | Photo Sheryl Cardiff
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA