Girls water polo: Marin Catholic punches return ticket to NCS championship

Four-year varsity players Emma Slaught and Anya Jaroszewski are one step closer to realizing the dream they’ve carried for Marin Catholic since they were freshmen.

Slaught and Jaroszewski powered the second-seeded Wildcats’ 12-4 North Coast Section Division II semifinal victory over No. 3 Moreau Catholic on Wednesday at San Domenico.

The victory secures a return trip to Saturday’s championship, where top-seeded James Logan is waiting after a 7-5 semifinal win over No. 5 Terra Linda. The final is set for noon on Saturday at Soda Aquatic Center in Moraga.

“We’re the last two players remaining from that 2021 team that went to the NCS D-II championships and lost on a golden goal in overtime,” said Jaroszewski, who scored four goals Wednesday.

The Wildcats, seeded fourth in 2021, lost 8-7 in overtime to No. 2 Carondelet in the NCS finals that year. The next year, top-seeded Marin Catholic lost 8-7 in overtime to No. 2 Northgate in the NCS D-II finals. Marin Catholic, seeded fifth in 2023, lost to top seed Marin Academy in the NCS D-II semifinals last year.

“For Emma and me, this has been our goal since the beginning of the year, to make that happen for the other seniors from those past teams who never got to experience winning a NCS championship,” Jaroszewski said. “I feel like we’re doing this for them.”

While the visiting Mariners never seemed to get their game in gear Wednesday, the Wildcats’ potent attack scored three unanswered goals to open the second period. Jaroszewski scored to give Marin Catholic a 3-1 lead and Amelia Kiriakis scored back-to-back goals on her way to a three-goal night.

Marin Catholic camped out in front of the Mariners’ cage, challenging senior netminder Arielle Manzaneres one-on-one. The Wildcats found the angles time and again, expanding a 7-2 halftime lead to an eight-goal lead in the third period.

Lucia Lind also scored four goals for the Wildcats. Junior goalkeeper Kiki Jaroszewski had five saves against a Moreau Catholic offense that focused on high-percentage shots that just never materialized in front of Marin Catholic’s defense.

“We were also seeing a lot of our younger players, our juniors step up this game,” said Slaught, who was at the center of the action all night. “They really showed us that they are here and that this is important to them.”

After scoring 19 goals in the previous two NCS games, Slaught scored one goal Wednesday as she distributed the ball to her teammates with three assists. Slaught also drew a tough defensive assignment against senior Nola Kurtz, who scored three of the Mariners’ goals.

“Water polo is a physical sport,” Slaught said. “I try to leave it all in the pool every game. I never back down. … Today was all about leaving it all out there for us, fighting for the next goal, fighting for the championship.”

Said Anya Jaroszewski, “This has been a long journey for us, starting our freshman year. This is the culmination of four years of hard work and late practices and playing over the summer and winter.”