Eagles' season ends in CCS upset Eagles' season ends in CCS upset (November 19, 2004)

Los Altos falls one goal short of advancing

By Scott Campbell

The Los Altos boys water polo team saw its season end in a heartbreaker at the Central Coast Section quarterfinals on Nov. 13. The Eagles lost to Santa Cruz 5-4 after Chris Jacobson scored the winning goal with 12 seconds left in the game.

Throughout the season, Los Altos had legitimate aspirations to win the CCS Division II title, entering the playoffs with a 23-7 overall record. But in mid-October, a season-ending shoulder injury to star hole set Tyler Smith left the Eagles scrambling to remake their team with the playoffs fast approaching.

"We went from losing our best player and a whole year of offense to where, in three weeks, [the players] had to implement a whole new system," said Los Altos Assistant Coach John Walker. (Head Coach Jon Wiener is a reporter for the Voice.)

Nevertheless, an experienced Eagles team, stocked with 11 seniors, seemed ready for the challenge. Number-four seed Los Altos entered the match with confidence, having beaten the number-five seed Cardinals on Oct. 30, 12-6.

Los Altos claimed an early 1-0 lead on driver Ryan Stanley's goal midway through the first quarter. Stanley took a Tim Miller pass from the right side and threw the ball into the left side of the Santa Cruz net.

The Eagles defense appeared ready to carry the team to victory in a low-scoring game. Santa Cruz (28-5 overall) managed only one first-half goal when Vince Sordo's shot was deflected into the Los Altos net.

Los Altos regained the lead on a Stanley assist to fellow senior Michael Orton.

Despite steals on three consecutive defensive stands, the Eagles couldn't capitalize. Its perimeter offense, adopted after Smith's injury, created ample scoring opportunities, but Los Altos couldn't convert them to widen its lead beyond 2-1 at the half.

"We worked hard. We got the open frame," said Stanley. "We just didn't finish the goals."

The match tightened up considerably in the second half as Santa Cruz star Chris Jacobson began to find his rhythm on offense. After assisting on Andreas Zappacosta's goal, Jacobson scored two of his own, and the teams continued to trade goals.

"It was a see-saw battle, back-and-forth the whole time," said Cardinals Coach Aaron Silberman. "It was just a hard-fought game."

Tied at 4-4 with two minutes to play, it first appeared that Los Altos would persevere. Senior Connor McColl put the ball in the Santa Cruz net, but he was whistled for an offsides violation, and the goal didn't count.

After calling a timeout with 23 seconds to play, Santa Cruz passed the ball inside to its star. Despite good Eagle coverage, Jacobson was able to fling the ball into the net on a backhand shot for the tie-breaking goal.

Los Altos set up its last play for Stanley, the Eagles' captain who had matched Jacobson's three-goal performance. After Stanley's shot sailed over the Santa Cruz goal, the Eagles were eliminated from the tournament.

"The thing that [the seniors] are sad about is that they don't get to play with their team anymore," said Walker. "We wanted to finish with a win, but only one team gets to do that."

Los Altos finished its season with an overall record of 23-8. @email:E-mail Scott Campbell at sports@mv-voice.com

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