Off to strong starts, the Los Gatos High boys and girls water polo teams will have an opportunity to make a statement in the final week of September.
The boys team entered the week at 10-0 overall, 4-0 in league and a No. 10 national ranking by Max Preps. But how the Wildcats fare Sept. 26 against nemesis Harker—which went 3-0 against Los Gatos last season—will go a long way in determining if they break through to win the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division championship this year.
Los Gatos ripped off 20 goals in a decisive 20-13 win over Gunn High on Sept. 21, with freshman sensation Richard Runge scoring six times. Runge showed his precocious play when, with 2 minutes, 25 seconds left, he stunned the Gunn goalie by stealing the ball and in one motion scored, tapping the ball off his face.
Wildcats coach Davor Koret said Runge has been as good as advertised.
“When you see that our freshman leads us both offensively and defensively at the end of the game, nobody is happier than us that we got him on our side,” Koret said. “Very solid reinforcement. It took a while for him to adjust, but now you can see the power coming out.”
Ryan Madsen, Connor Sullivan and Jacob Weber had three goals each vs. Gunn, Mathijs Dirven had two and Liam Amburgey, Henry Bakota and Jake Walton added one goal each as Los Gatos pulled away in impressive fashion.
Utilizing speed, strength and a Midas touch with its passing, Los Gatos scored at will, including once a man down when Weber connected on a cross pool floater for a 15-11 lead with 46 seconds left in the third quarter.
Goalies Eric Caplener and Frederick Hobson both had solid moments in the cage, with Hobson spelling Caplener in the second quarter. A day after beating Gunn, the Wildcats traveled to the Granite Bay area for a tournament, going 4-0, including a 15-14 win over Rocklin. In three of the four contests, Los Gatos held its opponents to single-digit goals.
That’s a big improvement after allowing 13 goals to Gunn, which gave Koret plenty to work with the team on.
“Still the part where we need to improve obviously is the defense and keeping our composure,” he said. “We have to play as a collective and that’s what is lacking right now. Luckily, we have plenty of time to improve it, plenty of opportunities to improve it.”
Koret said the players have a nice dynamic with fierce competition at most positions in conjunction with a desire to see each other do well, no matter who is in.
“They’re competing but they’re also supporting each other,” Koret said. “Especially when one goes in and the other comes out. We don’t want anybody to relax and just sit tight in their spot and think anything is a given. You’ve got to earn it, you’ve got to work hard and that’s exactly what they’re doing.”
The Los Gatos girls have a week of showdowns, facing a pivotal league match with Harker on Sept. 26 followed by another key game with Palo Alto two days later. The Vikings defeated the Wildcats in the league opener, 8-7.
It was Los Gatos’ first league loss since the 2021 season after it ran the table last year, going a perfect 17-0 in winning the regular-season and playoff tournament titles. Coach Don Appleton said opening the 2023 season with a loss was actually the best thing that could’ve happened to the team.
“Winning our first game of the season would be cool, but learning that if we go in thinking the games are done before we even play is a lesson this group needed to learn, because they were coming off such a big high last season,” he said. “We sat down and had long talks about this group right here, [that] you guys are zero and zero, you haven’t done anything, you guys need to go out and make the accomplishment.
“What you did last year, different group entirely. Different practices, different teams, you guys need to get out and show me that you guys want to be the same team, you want to have the same drive that the team last year had. And I think that’s what they’re doing right now so I’m really excited.”
The girls were the second game of the doubleheader with Gunn, and won handily, 12-2. Karissa Elliott had four goals and Karly Frangieh three in the victory. The next day, Los Gatos traveled out of the area for tournament action and went 3-1, its only loss to powerhouse Miramonte of Orinda, the top-ranked team in the country.
Playing a program like Miramonte can only help Los Gatos as it aims for another league championship and Central Coast Section Open Division playoff berth. In the tournament, the Wildcats beat Morro Bay 9-4, Buchanan of Clovis 10-4 and Davis 12-5.
Ella Ralston had five goals vs. Buchanan and four against Davis, with Frangieh also adding four scores and goalie Rachel Stephens finishing with five assists. Stephens had 18 saves against Gunn and has been vital as the last line in the team’s airtight interior and perimeter defense.
Elliott has added a lot to the team by bringing intangibles that every team needs to be successful.
“She’s not the fastest kid, she’s not the biggest kid, she’s not the strongest kid, but the drive that she has when she’s playing, you can’t find anyone who has more of that in her than Karissa,” Appleton said. “I can even say she’s probably the most coachable kid I’ve ever coached in the 15 years I’ve been doing this. A sponge, a sponge, I love the kid.”
The team goes three-deep at center with Abby Lockman, Katie Nelson and Bella Shedroff. Julia Ernsting has shown the capability to score and been a legitimate offensive threat. Of course, Frangieh has been sensational yet again coming off last year’s 100-plus goal campaign.
Appleton is particularly proud of the team for rebounding from the season-opening loss.
“We came into our first game for our first contact of the season and played the worst water polo I’ve seen this group play,” he said. “And seeing the way they’re bouncing back has been so much fun.”
