Sacred Heart Prep girls water polo steps up on defense against Arroyo Grande to secure title repeat at NorCal Invitational

In order to produce a successful title defense in the NorCal Invitational for the first time in program history, Sacred Heart Prep showcased a spectacular defensive effort in the final four minutes Saturday to secure an 8-7 victory in the final against Arroyo Grande at Dunlevie Aquatic Center in Atherton.

Vivian Golub delivered the deciding goal with 4:04 remaining and the Gators (21-2) stopped Arroyo Grande (23-5) on its final six offensive possessions to repeat as champions, the first back-to-back crowns for the host school in the 21-year history of the most prestigious girls water polo tournament in California during the fall season.

Natalia Szczerba, a Stanford commit, scored four goals for Sacred Heart Prep, which became the first program to win four NorCal Invitational championships, including titles in 2005 and 2007.

Arroyo Grande, which was trying to become the first Central Section school to win the 16-team, two-day tournament, received three goals from Tessa Pettit and eight saves by junior goalkeeper Bay Burnett, but endured its third setback this season against Sacred Heart Prep.

The Gators achieved a 12-7 victory Sept. 21 against Arroyo Grande at the Mountain View St. Francis tournament, then outlasted the Eagles again five days later with a 10-7 overtime win in an intersectional showdown.

Sacred Heart Prep never trailed in Saturday’s final, but Arroyo Grande forced six ties, including the final time with 5:11 remaining to pull even at 7-7 following Pettit’s third goal.

The Eagles, who advanced to the final following a 3-2 semifinal victory Saturday against Campolindo despite neither team scoring in the fourth quarter, struggled to produce timely offense again down the stretch against Sacred Heart Prep.

Arroyo Grande’s best chance to pull even and potentially force overtime came on a rare 6-on-4 advantage in the final minute, but Gators’ junior goalkeeper Ellison Brush stepped up to record a clutch stop – one of her three saves in the fourth quarter and six during the match – to help Sacred Heart Prep maintain the advantage.

The Eagles had one last opportunity after a Sacred Heart Prep shot sailed over the crossbar, but their final offensive possession resulted in a turnover with 10 seconds left and the Gators were able to hold on for the victory.

Kiernan Hogan and Megan Newby added goals in the final for Sacred Heart Prep, which opened the tournament Friday with a 10-3 victory against Stevenson and a 15-4 quarterfinal triumph over Clovis, before knocking off Carondelet 12-7 in Saturday’s semifinals.

Natalie Whitfield, Sophie McGehee, Allison Benson and Kenley Boadway also scored in the championship match for Arroyo Grande, which allowed more goals in the championship than it had in the first three tournament matches combined.

The Eagles produced a 13-1 victory against Mountain View St. Francis in the opener Friday, followed by an 8-3 quarterfinal win against San Ramon Valley, before surviving the semifinal battle against Campolindo.

Burnett had a combined 30 saves in the tournament for Arroyo Grande, with Whitfield scoring a team-high eight goals – including a 5-meter penalty shot in the final to tie the score at 6-6 in the third quarter – and Pettit adding seven goals in the four contests.

Campolindo (17-5) rebounded from the semifinal loss to Arroyo Grande to take third place following an 11-8 victory against Carondelet (18-5).

Following a 9-7 quarterfinal victory Friday against Miramonte (15-6) – the only program to defeat Sacred Heart Prep this season – Carondelet endured back-to-back losses Saturday to the host Gators and Campolindo.

Miramonte bounced back Saturday with a 16-7 win against Clovis (17-11) and an 11-5 triumph against Acalanes (18-5) to finish fifth.

San Ramon Valley (14-8) earned a 10-7 victory Saturday in the seventh-place match against Clovis.

Soquel (18-6) regrouped following an 8-3 setback against San Ramon Valley in Friday’s tournament opener to win its final three matches, including an 11-8 victory against Davis Senior (18-9) in the ninth-place contest Saturday at Gunn High in Palo Alto.