In front of its biggest crowd of the year, Cate gave its all but ultimately came up short in a 15-9 loss to Nordhoff during a Tri-Valley League water polo match on Wednesday.
Going down 4-1 early on, the Rams came back strong behind seniors Sam Kim, Zack Allen and Will Hogue. With an outstanding individual performance, Allen almost single-handedly kept Cate in the game with five goals.
With only 26 seconds left in the half, Allen scored a goal to tie the match at 6-6. Almost immediately afterward, a defensive lapse led to a Rangers goal with only one second remaining in the half. With the score, Nordhoff took the slim 7-6 lead heading into the half.
The third period would the Rams’ undoing as the Rangers poured it on, rattling off five goals in a row and taking a commanding 12-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter. From that point onward, the damage was already done with the two teams trading goals during the fourth period.
During a fight to the very last whistle, Alex Brown got some momentum back with two late goals for Cate. Along with this, Parker Matthews and Julian Maes each tallied a score for the Rams.
With loss, Cate misses out on a chance to make their first ever playoff appearance. The Rams wraps up the season with a record of 8-6 and 4-6 in league.
Allen finishes his water polo career as the program’s all-time top scorer, and most likely a three time 1st Team All-Tri Valley Athletic league selection. Allen was one of the most dominant two-meter defenders in the CIF Southern Section, according to Rams head coach Nathan Alldredge, but his speed and outside shot were just too dangerous to limit him to inside play. A phenomenal athlete and threat to score whenever he touched the ball, Allen’s ball handling and raw speed made him every opposing team’s biggest assignment.
