The Paly varsity boys water polo team anticipates a successful postseason after their 9-2 win against Los Gatos after playing in their last home game, of the season also known as Senior Night, Thursday, Oct. 25.
“We have really picked it up these last few games and are playing great water polo now,” senior Wheeler Gans said. “I think if we keep our momentum going we have a good chance at winning CCS.”
The Vikings started off the game with a bang, scoring four goals in the first period and blocking all of the Wildcats shots. Both teams played aggressively, with lots of shots taken and intense countering by both teams. Senior goalie Will Simon stood out with impressive saves, as well as starters and seniors captains Michael Fortune and Geng Wang.
” [Will] had a bunch of blocks,” said Paly coach Reid Particelli. “Geng and Michael also played really well, with good work by both in the cage.”
With a four point lead going into the second period, the Vikes slowed down their shooting. Playing the ball around the perimeter on offense, Palo Alto was able to build their lead throughout the period, with a goal by junior Tim Wenzlau and a swing shot by senior Neal Ketchum.
“The offense was the best it has probably ever been,” said Wenzlau.
Los Gatos managed forceful offense, with most of the period spend by the Paly goal. Simon, however, blocked many of their shots, allowing just one goal to raise the score to 6-1. The period ended with a lost ball from Paly senior Andre Keiser.
Fortune agreed. “This is the best we’ve been all season,” he said. “We dominated.”
Paly extends their lead in the third period, with one more goal scored by Wenzlau. However, the defense let up, allowing Los Gatos one more goal on a shot to the corner. The score was raised to 7-2.
Both teams brought aggressive play to forcing Simon to block several the last period. Los Gatos played offensive especially well, with a foul on Wang and several shots blocked by Simon. However, their attempts were no match to the Paly offense. Wang scored with a straight shot, with almost no defense from Los Gatos senior goalie Bobby Rose. Paly senior Cyril Gary and Fortune also scored, to make the final score 9-2.
“The game went really well,” said Particelli. “We played just as hard as we expected.”
In a bittersweet moment, this match marked the last home game for the members of the class of 2008. Seniors Andre Keiser, Sung Kim, Wheeler Gans, Cyril Gary, Scott Mielke, Will Simon, Ben Afshar, Geng Wang, and Michael Fortune were all honored for their excellent contributions to the team.
“This is probably the last group of seniors at Paly that will be amazing at water polo,” predicted junior Jeremy Kim. “The ‘WoPo’ era is over.”
“I am very proud of the seniors,” Particelli said. “I expect good things from all of them in the future. I’m glad we got to send them off well.”
Although this game was about commemorating the seniors, the Vikings were able to play their entire line up; a feat that has been accomplished for the first time this season.
“We played our full rotation today,” said Wenzlau. “The game was supposed to be about the seniors, but ended up being about the whole team.”
Palo Alto will play again in their first postseason game this Friday, against Corona del Mar of San Jose, in San Jose.