Jordan Meyers of Miramonte (#00) chases down the ball. Acalanes defender Ryan Bullen follows close behind. Photo Doug Kohen

Riding atop the DFAL standings, Acalanes' and Miramonte's battle for the top seed was a race to the finish. Both teams were 9-1 and tied for first in league rankings with the season winding down heading into a rivalry match-up on May 11th. The Dons' only loss came a month prior, in an 8-9 heartbreaker loss against Miramonte, while the Matadors' only loss came in close a high-scoring game against Las Lomas, 10-11.

The game started well for Acalanes, as the defense stepped up behind junior goalie Harrison Bagdan and held the Matadors scoreless in the first quarter while the offense notched two goals. With seniors Logan Quinn and Dayne Vinther,as well as junior Trevor Felt leading the way for the Dons' offense, Acalanes was able to build a 5-1 lead at halftime.

After a frustrating first half for the Miramonte offense, the Matadors came out in the beginning of the third quarter with a vengeance. Led by senior David Misaka, Miramonte struck back with an incredible five goals in the third quarter, while the Matador defense behind junior goalie Gabriel Gilleran held the Dons to just two goals. After three quarters, the score was now a tight 6-7.

The fourth quarter began with a stalemate as neither team was able to get on the board until Miramonte scored and Acalanes responded to give the Dons a seemingly comfortable 9-7 lead. As the clocked slowly wound down it seemed as if the Dons defense would hold Miramonte scoreless for the final quarter. However, in the final few minutes, Miramonte was able to score a goal bringing the score to within one. With under thirty seconds remaining, Misaka scored the tying goal to send the game into overtime.

Overtime was a goalie battle as neither Gilleran nor Bagdan let in a single shot for the entire first overtime period. In the second overtime, the scoreless drought ended and Alex Nicolaou of Miramonte put in the game winning goal giving Miramonte the 10-9 win.

The win propelled Miramonte to the top of the DFAL where it finished in first place at 11-1. Acalanes took second (9-2), Las Lomas third (9-4), and Campo fourth (7-5).

With the regular season finished, NCS became the next goal. All four top seeds in DFAL qualified for NCS and as fate would have it, Miramonte (seeded eighth) faced off against Acalanes (ninth seed) in the first round on May 19th. This time, however, the game went differently.

Miramonte got off to the quick start scoring three goals in the first quarter and adding two more in the second to bring their first half lead to 5-3. Miramonte dominated the first half led by senior Sean Curtis and Nicolaou, each with two goals in the first half.

Just like the previous matchup between the two teams, the third quarter featured an offensive explosion, this time for the Dons, who scored five goals in the quarter, giving them the 8-7 lead. The Dons scored twice more in the final quarter and the Mats only mustered one goal, giving the Dons the win 10-8 win. The Dons offense was led by senior Andrew Atkins who posted a stellar four goals while Felt and Quinn each had two goals. Once again, Badgan had a strong game in the goal, recording 10 saves.

Acalanes did not make it past the next round, losing 10-6 to first-seeded Foothill on May 21st. And with Las Lomas and Campolindo losing their first round games, DFAL was eliminated from the NCS bracket, but not without high hopes for all four teams next year.