Piedmont High School’s boys water polo team beat Alameda 10-9 on Nov. 2 in the third place match of the West Alameda County Conference tournament at Encinal. The Highlanders (15-9) earned a berth in the North Coast Section Division 2 playoffs and will face Freedom at De La Salle on Nov. 6.
Elles Krieckhaus led Piedmont with six goals and a steal. Henry Stein and Charlie Wright each had a goal and a steal. Zach Dupree and Hayden Jahn each had a goal. Leo Hurwitz had two steals and an assist. Nick Riordan also had an assist. Luke McAuliffe had eight saves and two steals.
Zach Dortch had three goals while Tyler Long and Antonio Drioane each scored twice for the Hornets. Ray Martin Del Campo and Bruno Rossi had one goal apiece.
Alameda took a 2-0 lead but the Highlanders scored the next four goals and never trailed again, building a 10-6 lead. Dortch’s goal with one minute, 13 seconds left cut the lead to 10-9 but the Hornets couldn’t finish the comeback.
On Oct. 30, Piedmont fell to Berkeley 22-15 in the semifinals at Encinal. Krieckhas scored five goals and an assist and Wright had three goals to lead the Highlanders. Hurwitz had two goals and an assist while Dupree and Stein each had two goals and a steal. McAuliffe had four saves, two steals and an assist. McAuliffe also scored a goal with 3:54 to go in the second quarter.
Eamonn Kaufer and Yair Sas each scored six goals for the Yellowjackets. Mateo Flores- Knapp scored three times while Torben Wihlbiller and Becket Sas each scored twice. Egan Boals, Manel Grossi and Greyson Grubb Smith each had a goal.
Piedmont opened the tournament on Oct. 28 with a 14-9 win over Bishop O’Dowd at Encinal. Kriecknhaus led the way again with six goals. Hurwitz had three and Dupree and Rylan Patty each scored two. Stein had the other goal.
Zac Bezenek scored four goals for the Dragons. Jake Hyde and Apollo Wang each scored twice. Eli McKoy-Beiser had the other goal.
Piedmont broke open a 4-3 game with three consecutive goals spanning the second and third quarters.
The Highlanders received the 13th seed in the NCS bracket. Freedom is No. 4. The winner will play the winner of fifth-seeded Washington-Fremont against Dougherty Valley match. The second round will be held Nov. 9. Cardinal Newman is the top seed.