11.9.19 – In a rematch of the their season opener, the Menlo and Santa Cruz boys’ water polo teams met on stage of the CCS Open quarterfinal Saturday at Lynbook High. Menlo emerged the winner, and after a 14-7 win, is headed to the semifinals against another familiar foe in Bellarmine.

The No. 2 seeded Knights (20-8) will face the No. 3 seeded Bells (16-11) on Tuesday or Wednesday at a time and site TBD. In an all-WCAL final four, Sacred Heart Prep and St. Francis meet in the other semi

Against Santa Cruz, Menlo forged a 6-1 halftime lead. Led by senior co-captain Connor Enright on offense with five assists, the team was backed by a strong goalkeeper duo of Zayd Mahmoud and Josh Poulos, who combined for 11 saves.  The Knights had assists from eight players, including two from Mahmoud in goal. Junior Connor MacMitchell

The Open Division has been in existence for three years and Menlo returns to the Open semifinals now for the third time.  In the previous two years’ Open semifinals, Menlo has split games with Bellarmine; in addition, Menlo has split with Bellarmine this season, beating them most recently in the WCAL Tournament semifinal, and losing to them in overtime mid-season. 

 “It’s just so fun to have a competitor who you know is going to battle you, year in and year out,” Bowen said. “There’s a chess match aspect to it and you know it’s just going to be a great game.  I’m really looking forward to this one in particular.  On top of all that, I’m really proud of how my team has improved over the course of the year and has been peaking now that we’re at playoff time.  It’s so fun to be a coach at this level and at this time of the year.”

CCS Open quarterfinal
at Lynbrook High

Santa Cruz       0   1  3   4  - 8
Menlo School  4   2   3   6 - 15

Scoring –M: Connor Enright 2, Noah Housenbold 4, Greg Hilderbrand 3, Connor MacMitchell 5, Collin Skinner. Saves  –M: Josh Poulos 5, Zayd Mahmoud 6