Carondelet comes back in overtime thriller

Anna Bernard (pictured above against Concord) had five saves in the first quarter alone of the Bulldogs loss to Carondelet on Oct. 11, 2016. (MARK FIERNER / Martinez Tribune)
Anna Bernard (pictured above against Concord) had five saves in the first quarter alone of the Bulldogs loss to Carondelet on Oct. 11, 2016. (MARK FIERNER / Martinez Tribune)

By GERARDO RECINOS
Martinez Tribune

The Lady Bulldog water polo team were unlucky to get the result against a resilient Carondelet team that came from behind on Tuesday afternoon.

From the get go the Bulldogs were on the ropes in their Oct. 11 12-8 overtime loss. They took on a lot of pressure from the visiting Cougars and really needed to brilliant effort from their keeper.

Carondelet started bright on the offensive and managed to create some solid opportunities, the only thing that kept them off the score sheet was Anna Bernard, the Bulldogs’ senior keeper.

Bernard made four big saves on the Cougars’ opening possessions, including a double save from close distance.

Those saves allowed the Bulldogs to take an early lead despite a poor showing in the opening minutes. Seniors Sarah Exner and Daria Dragicevic linked up for the first goal, with Exner putting a cross-pool pass on the mark and Dragicevic firing it across the face of goal.

Dragicevic returned the effort, but not to Exner, instead linking up with Amanda Beatie. Beatie scored from the left flank, firing a shot at the near post to score.

Everything was coming up perfectly for the Bulldogs. They weathered the storm, scored twice, and managed to continue on in the second quarter.

Exner skipped in a screamer, but Carondelet finally answered after that. The Cougars scored twice before Dragicevic scored her third goal of the afternoon to restore a two-goal lead to the Dogs.

But the tide had turned.

Senior Allison Carr scored the second of her game-high seven goals after knocking the ball off a Bulldogs player and taking it on her own.

The Cougars scored again, this time Kiki Mein scored, taking advantage of a kick out drawn on the Dogs.

In the second half the Bulldogs came out of the gate strong. Freshman Kaylee Pond pump faked four times and took advantage of the fact that the Cougar defenders didn’t close on her to restore the Bulldog lead. Exner assisted Beatie for her second goal to double to the Bulldog lead soon after.

Alhambra had some trouble establishing a lead that would allow them to relax. Exner scored the team’s seventh goal, but Carondelet’s Carr scored twice in the early stages of the fourth quarter to level things at 7-7.

Neither team was as tactical as they would have wanted to be with their final possessions, but they each managed to score once more.

With a chance to take the match, Exner scored with 3:21 on the clock. However Carr scored again for Carondelet on a Bulldog kick out to level things and force an extra time.

A tired Alhambra side couldn’t manage to find the back of the net in either overtime period. Carr scored three times, but the back-breaker was a goal by Carondelet keeper Alex Brown scored from long range. The sophomore took a shot at the buzzer that soared into the top corner.

The loss moves the Bulldogs to 8-8 on the season with three games remaining before the playoff push. The Dogs take on Clayton Valley Charter, Tamalpais, and Northgate in their final three matches.

About Gerardo Recinos

Gerardo Recinos is a journalist currently living in Concord, Calif. He is a recent graduate of San Francisco State University, with a degree in Journalism (History minor). Gerardo covers sports throughout Martinez and Pleasant Hill. It's his lifelong mission to get people in the U.S. to stop calling football "soccer," and to call American football "handegg."

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