Boys’ water polo defeated Miramonte on Saturday, earning its 1st North Coast Section (NCS) championship as Dylan Fara scored in the final minutes to give the Cougars a one point advantage, 11-10.
After its semi-final win against San Ramon Valley, the team was confident heading into the title match, according to sophomore Cole Stevens.
“This game defines our team for who we are. This is the game that we have worked for all year, possibly the biggest game of our lives,” said Stevents.
Stevens tied up the score at 2 all with a goal in the early stages of the match against the Matadors.
Head coach Miles Price was proud of his team’s championship effort. “I couldn’t be more excited for those guys. There was no doubt in my mind we were going to win it. That’s what we set out to do, and we did it,” he said.
Sivesind said, “Miramonte is a really good all around team, they don’t have any stars. We are just planning to play our game, nothing special.”
Sophomore Yurii Hanley said that seniors Dylan Fara, Grant Sivesind, and Matt Gong helped lead the team to victory.
Price also believed the three seniors had a great game, but the victory was truly a team effort. “If you look at the stats, you will see that everybody performed,” he said.
In the closing minutes of the contest, in spite of the pressure, Hanley remainder poised. He said, “I wasn’t nervous. I knew that it was our moment to win the game.”
Beating Miramonte was particularly sweet for the Cougars, as they had not been able to do that during the regular season. In addition, Miramonte has won NCS in the 2011 and 2012 season. Hanley said, “We felt pumped. We were the better team and we showed it.”
