Swarmed by an ecstatic sea of red and grey, 20 North Coast Section champions beamed in awe at their coach as he held up the plaque for which they had worked so diligently.
On Saturday, Nov. 15, the boys’ varsity water polo team defeated Northgate 13-7, marking the first time in Redwood history that any water polo team won a NCS Division II championship.
“We were going to win—that was the goal,” head coach Rudy Kardos said. “The main focus was that anytime you had an obstacle in your way, you don’t look at the finish line. You look one step ahead and make sure you execute every position. Made out of these little things, the game gets put together like a puzzle.”
At last year’s NCS final, the team suffered a devastating loss to Alhambra with a score of 9-6.
“Last year, the bus ride back from NCS felt like the worst moment of our lives,” said senior Abe Massik. “We didn’t want it to happen again, so we were really driven to work hard all season and come out with a win.”
Six starting seniors led the game and scored all of the team’s points.
Team captain Giorgio Cico scored three goals and helped save five potential shots next to goalie Grayson Noyes, who saved 12.
Abe Massik and Jake Racich scored two of the goals each and Travis Burroughs and Brandon West each scored three. Out of these goals, four were assisted by Cole Donnelly, who also made three steals.
“This is a very special group of seniors,” Kardos said. “I started with these kids when they were freshmen. Year after year, they were showing their ability, growing, growing, growing.”
According to Kardos, hard work has contributed to the team’s success over the years.
“All those years, all those hours on the pool deck showed that they actually remember,” Kardos said. “When it actually counts, they bring it home.”
Kardos believes that the close bond between the team has been crucial to their success.
“This group of seniors, most of them play club water polo year long together, their parents all know each other, they basically spent four years not just in school, but after school hours together, and it has definitely contributed to their success,” Kardos said.
“We’re probably the closest team at redwood,” senior Joe Matthews said. “It’s the water polo friend group, we’re basically a family.”
Matthews described what he was thinking in the last moments of the game.
“What was going through my head was how much I’m going to miss all [of them].” Matthews said. “That was our last game together, our last game we are going to play as a team. With such a senior-loaded team, its going to be really sad when all of us have to leave.”
Noyes said that while this was the seniors’ last game at Redwood, they will still be playing together in club water polo, Junior Olympics, and, for some of the players, even against each other in college.
So far, many players have been recruited but the only ones to commit have been Cico, who committed to Johns Hopkins University, and Noyes, who committed to Occidental College.
