Courtesy of Brian Le
Junior Brian Le takes a long-range shot against Fremont.At the El Camino League tournament on Oct. 28, the Falcons defeated the Fremont Firebirds; now, for the first time in four years, the Falcons have secured a spot in the top four. Final placements will be determined by the next two matches.
The team entered the game as underdogs, having faced Fremont twice before in the season — once on Oct. 23 with a loss of 24-8 and another on Sept. 9 with a 13-12 defeat. On top of that, head coach Michael Allegretti was absent for the match to instead coach for the girls’ league tournament.
However, with senior goalkeeper Samvrith Bandi returning to the pool after sickness and better strong team chemistry, the Falcons entered the game with determination.
Senior whole-set Chester Bunker set the tempo early, winning the sprint for the ball and earning the Falcons’ first possession of the match. Immediately after, senior flat Kunal Bhatnagar was able to convert the early offense into a goal through a quick formation set up and smooth passes around the pool.
On the next offense, senior whole-set and flat Nirvan Shah drew an ejection against Fremont, allowing the Falcons to play one person up for 20 seconds. Shah immediately took advantage of this with a clean pass setting up a powerful shot from Bhatnagar, widening the lead to 2-0. The rest of the quarter was controlled by the Falcons as they shut down Fremont’s offense with quick drops on set.
In the second quarter, Fremont’s drives created scoring opportunities , resulting in two goals for their team. They capitalized on small holes in the Falcons’ defense, threading passes to players in front of the goal, cutting the Falcons’ lead.
However, successive plays by junior flat Brian Le allowed the Falcons to regain possession. Le turned his defender, which awarded him a 5-meter penalty shot. His long-range shots across the pool boosted the margin of the score by several goals in the second quarter.
Smart shot selection also benefitted the team, with the Falcons executing their offenses calmly and with clear preparation. This kept the game in control of their hands without erratic turnovers and messy coordination.
The second half of the match continued to go in the Falcons’ favor. Fremont’s goals came from one of their top players — Kai Daron — firing powerful shots at the cage — a last resort due to the Falcons’ tight marking and relentless defensive pressure.
Though the team lost several offensive possessions due to bad passes, their defense was able to cover for the counterattacks coming down the pool.
A pass from Rao to Shah in the third quarter through a tight opening was a prime example of the team’s improvement in chemistry and coordinated plays.
To round the match out, the Falcons pulled ahead with multiple counterattack scenarios. The final score was 17-13, with multiple players such as Bhatnagar, Shah and Le scoring above three goals each.
Individual performances shone in both defense and offense. Senior point Ishaan Rao was a key player on defense, completely shutting down Fremont’s whole-set player. He was only ejected on defense once as the set-defense — the hardest position to defend.
Bandi blocked a total of 27 shots, many of which were high-stakes opportunities for Fremont to score in. Le earned several 5-meter penalty shots and scored eight goals, one of the most outstanding offensive performances this season. Shah drew seven ejections against Fremont, resulting in many 6-on-5 possessions, and a permanent kickout of two players after three total ejections on them.
“Today was the best we’ve played all season,” Le said. “Our offense was particularly powerful, and we were able to achieve one of the greatest wins this year.”
With the powerful win over a tough opponent, the Falcons plan to build energy to enter the second match against Milpitas on Oct. 30, the first ranked team in the league.
