Even after the No. 5 seed Los Gatos High girls water polo team was eliminated by No. 4 seed St. Francis 6-4 in the Central Coast Section Open Division playoff quarterfinals on Nov. 6, coach Don Appleton is confident the Wildcats are in prime position to make a return to the section’s premier division soon—real soon.
“I think we’re going to be alright,” he said. “I’m sad to see our seniors go because they’re such great kids, but I’m excited for the kids we have coming back.”
Appleton feels confident about the team staying among the section’s elite because he knows things could’ve turned out differently against St. Francis.
“I think us being frozen offensively in the first quarter, we had to shake that off a little bit,” he said. “And if that would’ve happened a little earlier, it might have been a different game. Defensively, we were solid. It was just some big pressure opportunities where we had a lot of kids who haven’t had a lot of experience in that space, and we had some poor decisions in the first half.”
As expected, the game was hotly-contested, with both teams attempting to exert their considerable will on the other. Midway through the first quarter, Los Gatos had a golden opportunity to score the first goal of the game after Karly Frangieh induced a 5-meter penalty shot.
However, the St. Francis goalie came up with a nice save on the penalty shot, which led to a St. Francis goal on the ensuing possession. The Lancers added another goal later in the period and led 2-0 after one quarter. Appleton was pleased with how the players kept battling even though things weren’t going their way.
“Any time you go down by two goals, it has the potential to be a runaway game one way or another,” he said. “But the girls stayed tough and kept it close. It really showed they wanted to win and their energy was there.”
However, the slow start made things an uphill contest the entire way. Los Gatos got on the board with 4 minutes, 47 seconds left in the second quarter on Maily Isaacs’ laser shot from seven meters away. Positioned far from the St. Francis cage, Isaacs unleashed a shot that hit the inside of the top post and went straight down into the cage for a goal.
Los Gatos had a great chance to equalize on a breakaway shot shortly thereafter, but missed. The Lancers then scored on a 6-on-5 opportunity to retake a two-goal lead entering halftime. The Wildcats showed their mettle in the third quarter, scoring two goals to even the match. Mackenzie Lindholm scored on a 5-meter penalty shot after Lily van Putten was fouled in front of the St. Francis goal with 4:52 to go in the period.
On its next possession, van Putten came up with a steal and passed the ball to Karissa Elliott, who delivered it to the front to Zoe Frangieh. Despite having a St. Francis defender draped all over her, Frangieh used her strength and was able to get enough on the shot to make it 3-3 entering the final quarter.
However, the Lancers scored the first three goals in the fourth to seal the outcome. Wildcats goalie Jackie King accounted for the final goal of the game when she came into the field and ripped a shot from mid-pool for a score.
“Jackie took a little frustration out with that last shot,” Appleton said. “If anyone would’ve been in the way of her shot, somebody might have had an appointment with the trainer after. She hammered that ball.”
Appleton looked to the first three quarters of play as the decisive factor.
“Nothing comes down to the fourth quarter—it’s everything you do up to that position that sets up the final result,” he said. “And you know in the first half we were playing really nervous. I don’t think we’re going to be in that position again because we’re keeping a lot of these kids for next year.”
Despite the loss, the Wildcats were proud of a season that saw them finish 25-3 and win the Santa Clara Valley League’s De Anza Division championship.
“I’ve enjoyed my time with them,” Appleton said. “It’s been a fun group to coach and watch and I had fun at practice everyday.”
Despite graduating some talented seniors, the cupboard won’t be bare in 2022. Key returners for next season include Isaacs, van Putten, Ella Ralston, Karissa Elliott, Karly Frangieh, Julia Ernsting and Rachel Stephens, who played on the junior varsity team this season but is expected to shine on the varsity next year.Â
Sports editor Emanuel Lee can be reached at [email protected] or (831) 886-0471, ext. 3958.
