Late score has Gunn girls into SCVAL water polo finals

Gunn goalie Jayden Kratt threw a long pass just ahead of Cooper McKenna, who instinctively caught the ball, drove one way and then spun around another way and pushed in the winning goal with under 20 seconds to play in Gunn’s dramatic 12-11 victory over visiting Los Altos on Thursday.

A little earlier, Gunn coach Chris Ford set up a play to get either Kate Mallery or McKenna open for a game-tying shot. It worked out a little differently when Molly Wilkinson found herself open and scored with 42 seconds left to knot things up.

Alexandra Szczerba and Bella Bachler each scored four goals and Sacred Heart Prep beat Valley Christian 14-5 to advance to the championship match of the West Catholic Athletic League tournament against St. Francis at Bellarmine on Saturday at 6 p.m.

It’s been a rough week for the Titans (17-6), who find themselves in Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship match of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division girls water polo tournament at home against regular-season champion Los Gatos, which beat Palo Alto 8-1 in the other semifinal.

Gunn was down to six varsity players last Saturday at the NorCal Invitational because of an injury and illness. The Titans were still missing three players Thursday.

“I just hope we can get everybody healthy,” said Ford, in his first year at Gunn. “Everybody has injuries and sickness at this time of the season.”

The winner of Saturday’s game will be seeded into the Central Coast Section Open Division and there’s a chance both teams could make it. Gunn’s win over Castilleja in the NorCal Invite looms large in that regard.

“We’ve played Los Gatos in the finals all three years I’ve been here,” Mallery said. “Every time we play them it’s a super crazy game. I’m looking for another super crazy game.”

Gunn and the Wildcats split their season series, with each winning on the road, which doesn’t usually happen. But then, it’s been that kind of year.

Los Altos, which placed third in the SCVAL, has lost four straight to Gunn, three times by one goal, dating to last year.

The Eagles, who won the CCS Division I title last fall, have lost five games by two goals or less this year. They opened the year with a 5-4 win over defending Open Division champion Leland.

Opposing teams have paid a lot of attention to Mallery and McKenna, who have played together since becoming teammates on the Stanford Water Polo Foundation 12-under all-star team (“it might have been 10’s actually,” says McKenna).

Los Altos often double-teamed them, which gave other Titans a chance to make things happen. On the game-winning goal, for example, it’s usually Mallery sending a long pass into McKenna’s path.

“If I do get a little bit ahead I look back for a pass from Kate,” McKenna said. “This time it was Jayden who made the great pass.”

Pooja Bucklin, Isobel Taylor, Jenny Gao and Molly Wilkinson combined to score five goals and record six assists. Maya Schell also had an assist. Kratt made nine saves.

Mallery’s defense in the fourth period was critical in giving Gunn a chance in the final minute. She blocked four shots in the game but was at her best in denying shots and passing lanes down the stretch.

“I think everybody did a great job of fronting their players,” Mallery said. “Our shot blocking was a lot better.”

Wilkinson also blocked two shots and McKenna blocked a shot to go with three steals and a pair of assists.

Sacred Heart Prep (21-3) scored six consecutive goals to break a 2-2 tie en route to its win over the Warriors. Ella Woodhead and Eleanor Facey each added two goals for the Gators while Brienz Lang and Margot Gibbons each recorded two assists. Bachler also added four steals.