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The Miramonte boys were playing at Acalanes and the Acalanes girls were playing at Miramonte.
The teams came away with a split decision: the Acalanes boys defeated Miramonte 12-2 while the Miramonte girls defeated Acalanes 11-5.
The Acalanes (7-0) and Miramonte (6-1) boys finished 1-2 in league play.
The Miramonte (7-1), Campolindo (7-1) and Acalanes (6-2) girls finished 1-2-3 in league play. Acalanes defeated Campolindo in the semifinals setting up final against Miramonte.
The Miramonte girls fell behind 4-1 at the start but scored 10 of the next 11 goals. Miramonte head coach Jackie Pelletier did not single out any individuals: "It was a team effort. Every girl stepped up their game. We were very physical and had a real presence out there. We got about every ground ball and draw in the game."
The Acalanes boys team jumped out to an early lead and kept up the pressure all game. Acalanes head coach Brent Ringwood explained it this way: "We established our pace on offense and did not make any mistakes. We kept peppering the goal, got an early lead and it was on from there."
Miramonte, coming into the game averaging 11 goals per game, saw their offense almost completely stifled. Ringwood gave much of the credit to their 10-man riding game (harassing the player with the ball before he can pass the ball upfield): "We brought our goalie out of the game and marked somebody, allowing us to match up with Miramonte. It is hard for an opponent to practice for and our kids were patient."
Ringwood very much welcomes the return of two key players from injuries: midfielder Matt Mariano (knee) and attacker Colin Jeffries (ankle).
Entering the NCS playoffs, the Acalanes and Miramonte boys and the Acalanes, Campolindo and Miramonte girls teams were all playing well. In fact, the five schools had a combined 26-7 record in their last 33 games.
You can now add 10-0 to that record as all five of the Lamorinda teams won each of their playoff games. The Acalanes boys team outscored Sonoma Academy and Livermore by a combined score of 39-7. The Miramonte boys defeated Head Royce (18-10) Petaluma (12-6). The Miramonte girls won their two games over Livermore and San Marin by a combined 35-7 score.
Campolindo defeated Petaluma (18-2) and Marin Academy (11-10) while Acalanes won their two games over Bishop O'Dowd (16-5) and Casa Grande (13-3).
Reach the reporter at:
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA