Playing without their standout center and leading scorer, senior Cian Lacy, because of illness, and trailing 4-1 at halftime, it was looking bleak for the Sonoma Valley High School varsity water-polo boys in last Thursday’s Marin County Athletic League match at San Rafael.
But junior Jackson Mighell came up big filling in for Lacy at the center position and scoring a pair of goals in helping the Dragons rise to the occasion with a second-half surge past San Rafael that resulted in seven goals and an inspiring 8-7 victory.
Sonoma was led by Mighell and senior Max Shepard who had two goals each, and one goal apiece by senior Jack Lewis, junior Owen Summers and sophomores Andrew McGrath and Dominic Tommasi.
In the girls MCAL match, the young Lady Dragons turned in a spirited effort behind sophomore Grace Turner’s hat-trick, keeping the clash close until they faded in the second half and ended up dropping a 13-4 decision, as Sonoma senior Natalie Baker added a goal to go with Turner’s three tallies.
On Saturday at Contra Costa College in the East Bay, the Dragon boys competed in the Contra Costa Mini Tournament and posted a 2-1 record, losing 16-6 to Berkeley in the tourney opener and beating Novato and San Leandro by 7-6 and 8-4 margins, respectively.
The Dragon water-polo teams, directed by head coach Flynn O’Brien, host Cardinal Newman in a 5 p.m. MCAL match on Thursday, Oct. 8, at the Sonoma Aquatic Club pool.
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