By Dick Sparrer
Losing is never easy.
But when that loss comes a game short of the Central Coast Section finals by a single goal! In overtime! Well, it's got to be tough to take.
And that's just the loss suffered by the Lynbrook girls' water polo team in the CCS semifinals on Nov. 29.
The Vikings had worked their way into the semis with a 10-6 win over Menlo-Atherton in the quarterfinals.
They advanced to the semifinal round against Menlo, and gave it all they had before dropping a tough 9-8 decision in overtime.
Suzannah Johnson, Lynbrook's big scorer all season long, led the Vikings with four goals in the battle with Menlo. Tine Van Criekinge supported with two goals, and Joanna Chung and Claire Holt added one each.
Johnson had the hot hand for the Vikes in the 10-6 win over Menlo-Atherton in the quarterfinals. Johnson poured in seven goals to lead Lynbrook to the important victory. Van Criekinge chipped in with two goals, and Samara Silverman had one.
The win provided a little revenge for Lynbrook against Menlo-Atherton. The Vikings had lost 6-5 to
M-A in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League championship game.
Kim Orsua buried two goals and Johnson, Chung and Van Criekinge added one each, but the Vikes came up a goal short against M-A in the league title game.
Lynbrook had disposed of St. Francis in the league semifinals in a tight 7-6 decision.
Johnson was the big scorer for the Vikings with five goals, and Chung and Van Criekinge hit one apiece.
That win helped the Vikings improve to 12-0 for the year. The loss to M-A a game later would be their first of the year.
Lynbrook finished the year with a 13-2 record, good for second in the SCVAL and a berth in the CCS semifinals. Strangely, that was very similar to Lynbrook's finish the year before, when the Vikes were second in the league and lost to Menlo in the CCS semis.
Falcons fall
Saratoga knows all too well how Lynbrook is feeling this week.
The Falcons lost a 10-9 heartbreaker to Cupertino in the semifinals of the boys' CCS Division II tournament.
It didn't get into overtime, but it was a heartbreaker nonetheless. The Falcons took an early 3-2 lead and held a 5-4 lead at halftime before getting outscored 3-1 in the third period to fall behind 7-6 heading into the fourth quarter.
Saratoga matched Cupertino's three goals in the fourth, but came up a goal short of advancing to the CCS finals.
With the 10-9 win, Cupertino moved on to the finals and beat Palo Alto 15-13 to claim a CCS championship.
David Breitenbach and Simon O'Connell pumped in three goals apiece to lead the Saratoga offensive attack against Cupertino. Jason Cooper-Hart supported with two goals, and Jaison Carter added one to the cause.
The Falcons, champions of the El Camino Division of the SCVAL, had earned their place in the CCS semifinals with an 8-6 win over Soquel in the first round of the tournament.
Carter and Daniel O'Connell popped two goals apiece to lead the Falcons to the victory. Breitenbach, Cooper-Hart, S. O'Connell and David Prendergast also scored goals in the win.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, December 4, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved