 Photo Courtesy Of Tami Mulcahy
Los Altos’ Colin Mulcahy scored six goals in the CCS semifinals. This is a loss the Los Altos High boys water polo team can live with. The Eagles’ coach and top player both said they have no regrets about their team’s effort in last week’s 12-9 setback to Bellarmine in the Central Coast Section Division I semifinals.
“They played their hearts out,” coach Ed Samuels said. “Winning is not the point, it’s the effort, and they gave their best effort.” Colin Mulcahy, who scored six goals for Los Altos, added “We played as hard as we could. If we hadn’t left it all in the pool, we would have been more saddened by it.” The fourth-seeded Eagles (20-5) hung with the top-seeded Bells (20-7) until the final minutes of the Nov. 17 game at Lynbrook. Mulcahy’s skip shot tied the game at 9 with 5 and 1/2 minutes play. But the Bells responded with three straight goals to close the contest, while Los Altos failed to capitalize on scoring chances. “I think we could have won that game – the opportunities were there,” said Samuels, whose squad rallied from a 7-5 halftime deficit. “We had a few 6-on-5 chances late in the game when it was still a 1- or 2-goal game. We had one wide-open shot that just missed and the other on a pass to the post that was intercepted before it got to a guy who was wide open.” The Eagles had more than one shot that just missed the mark in the fourth, according to Mulcahy, and he’s convinced they were the difference in the game. “We had some shots hit the top bar, and if they go in, we win,” he said. “It wasn’t as frustrating during the game as it was after the game was over when you think about what could have been. If they go in, we get to play St. Francis in the final.” Los Altos did accomplish something Mulcahy and his teammates sought. “We went out there wanting to show that public schools can compete with the private school powers, and we did,” the junior said. “We were in it the whole time.” Mulcahy – who Samuels called “the most complete water polo player I’ve seen in Northern Calfornia” – had a lot do with that. He defied double teams to lead the Eagles in scoring, showing why so many colleges in the country are recruiting him. “He didn’t just play big – he dominated the game; six goals is a lot to score against the No. 1 seed,” Samuels said. “Colin is always a factor in everything we do and he certainly brought us back (in the second half), but some other players made huge contributions, too. Mark (Conrad) scored on a counterattack, (Alex) Bailey made a key shot from the perimeter and (Emilien) Fritsch made a long shot.” Mulcahy added that Bailey’s successful shot from 8 meters “got the momentum going for us in the third quarter.” Although the Eagles couldn’t sustain it, they did play perform better against Bellarmine than when the teams met at a tournament in September. “That was an all-around terrible game,” Mulcahy said. “We forgot about it and came into this game with a clean slate, and we were a lot more competitive. Even though we lost, everyone said this was the most fun, intense game they’ve played all year.” Lancers fall to Bells, too Second-seeded St. Francis became Bellarmine’s next victim. The Bells beat the rival Lancers 9-4 in the CCS final Saturday at Santa Clara University. The teams split their two West Catholic Athletic League games this season, but this contest was all Bellarmine. The Bells jumped to a 3-1 lead in the first quarter and didn’t allow the Lancers to score more than one goal in any quarter. St. Francis (14-16) trailed 4-2 at halftime and 6-3 entering the fourth quarter.. Peter Simon and Thomas Agramonte led the Lancers, scoring two goals each. Contact Pete Borello at
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