Junior Andrew Schnugg led the Dons with four goals in their 9-7 win over Miramonte Photo Bob Johnson

Tensions ran high on October 20, 2010, as two DFAL water polo forces, Acalanes and Miramonte, faced off in a rivalry match. The home advantage did not prove to be enough for either Matador team. The Lady Dons won a close contest, 8-7. They improve to 12-7 overall while the Lady Mats fall to 10-8 overall. In the boys' game, the Dons defeated the Mats 9-7. The Mats fell for the first time in league play this season. Their overall record is now 12-2. The Acalanes men are now alone atop the DFAL standings and maintain an undefeated league record.

The women's game started off at a quick pace. An early goal by Miramonte spurred the Dons and they quickly responded by scoring two goals of their own. The Lady Mats' Shelly Caron evened up the score 2-2 with a goal. The Lady Dons then regained momentum as they quickly added a goal from junior Molly Quinn before the first quarter ended.

The first quarter was followed by a rather slow start of the second quarter until a penalty shot was awarded to Miramonte. The resulting goal by senior Sarah Furtado just slipped by the hands of the Acalanes sophomore goalie Katie Ramm, who had five saves that night. The first half ended in a tie 3-3.

To the tune of an excited chant from the Miramonte parent section, the third quarter began with two consecutive Miramonte goals from junior Erin Byrne to give Miramonte a 5-3 lead. As quickly as their lead came, Acalanes took it back 7-6 by the end of the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Caron evened the score, 7-7, much to the enthusiasm of the home crowd. It was Acalanes senior Casey Reid who delivered the final blow; she scored in the final minutes to give the Dons the 8-7 victory.

"Our offense really pulled it out. We were able to get some good shots off," said senior captain for Acalanes, Adrienne Burgin. "We really just tried to finish it off [in the second half], get the lead, and after that, it's really all defense."

Miramonte was not content with the loss, however, as senior Sarah Abel can attest: "I think our intensity was really increased this game, we want to play Acalanes again to show them that we can beat them, because it was not that much of a score difference; we're ready and prepared to do that."

The Miramonte girls suffered losses to both their Lamorinda rivals. They lost to Campolindo, 8-4, on October 13. Caron also had two goals in that game.

The boys' teams faced off following the girls'. The undefeated league rivals fought for first place and momentum heading into the postseason. The first quarter mirrored the girls' start, with quick scoring. It ended with the Dons in the lead, 3-2. Acalanes senior goalkeeper Robert Clemons had multiple saves in the quarter; he recorded 10 in the match.

In the second quarter, Miramonte evened the score at 3-3 with a goal from senior Joey Fabian before losing its momentum and falling back by two goals, 5-3. The Mats then received a penalty, which Fabian scored handily in the top right hand corner of the goal. This ignited the Mats' spirit, and they tied the score soon after. Acalanes junior Andrew Schnugg scored in the final minutes to just edge out the Mats before the half, 6-5.

Within the first minute of the second half, Acalanes scored and set the tone for the remainder of the match. According to Clemons, the defining moment came when a shot by Schnugg was deflected and bounced off the crossbar and into the Miramonte goal as the shot clock wound down; this gave the Dons a secure lead score 8-5.

"We just had everything going for us at that point," said Clemons.

Schnugg was the Dons' leading scorer with four goals, three of which came in the first half.

Miramonte attempted to battle back, scoring in the final minutes of the third quarter. Acalanes maintained the lead in the fourth and came out with the win, 9-7.

With the loss, the Miramonte boys' recorded a 1-1 record against their Lamorinda rivals. The Mats dominated Campolindo 17-7 on October 13. Fabian led all scorers with five goals in the match.

With a win against Alhambra today, Acalanes will be able to clinch their DFAL league title.