MC FELLS REDWOOD AS PLAYOFFS LOOM - Marin Independent Journal

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MC FELLS REDWOOD AS PLAYOFFS LOOM

Wildcats inch closer to capping an unbeaten MCAL campaign

Marin Catholic’s Lucas Frolich moves the ball away from Redwood’s Hayden Donehower on Wednesday in Kentfield. PHOTOS BY FRANKIE FROST – SPECIAL TO THE MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL

Redwood’s John Anderluh catches the ball and sprints ahead of Marin Catholic’s Alex Buck on Wednesday in Kentfield.

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By Derek Wilson

dewilson@marinij.com

An offensive punch from Harvard-bound Tate Sedlachek and the Wildcats has Marin Catholic undefeated in league play and looking to defend its crown.

“We’re coming back as North Coast Section champions,” Marin Catholic head coach BJ Grill said, “and it’s really difficult to develop that consistency when you’re trying to remain on top rather than doing something that’s never been done before. I know it’s a pretty cliche thing to say, but it’s true.”

The Wildcats survived a challenge from second-place Tam earlier, and outhustled third-place Redwood, 17-5, on Wednesday. Marin Catholic (13-4, 7-0 MCAL) can run the table against the MCAL in the regular season with a win against San Marin on Thursday.

“We’ve been flat at times this season because we’re still learning to be consistent, and we’re also replacing a senior class that was pretty monumental for us last season,” Grill said. “I also think we’re a more talented team than we were last season, top to bottom, but we’re trying to figure out our identity with a smaller senior class.”

Redwood (7-7, 3-2) is now faced with the tough task of recovering from Wednesday’s loss and finding an edge for a postseason run. The Giants face San Rafael on Thursday, then wrap up the regular-season schedule against league opponents Novato and San Marin the following week. The first round of the MCAL tournament is scheduled for April 29, with a play-in game on April 26, if needed.

“Every game is a big game now,” said Redwood’s Jackson Gurvich, who scored a second-quarter goal. “All of these are must-win games now.”

Despite his team’s success, Grill wasn’t taking anything for granted on Wednesday.

“I remember when Redwood beat us 17-4 on this field,” Grill said. “We talked about never forgetting that, like it’s been a long journey to get to this point.”

Chase Ruegg led Marin Catholic with five goals. Sedlachek drilled four goals against Giants goalkeeper Cameron Momson, with three coming in the first half as the Wildcats took an 11-4 lead.

Marin Catholic’s Marek Elia fired up the offense after winning the opening faceoff and racing toward the Redwood cage for the goal just 15 seconds into the game. Seconds after the Giants’ John Anderluh evened the score, Sedlachek netted the go-ahead goal.

“Our attack is super young,” Grill said. “(Matthias Mertick, Chase Ruegg and Tate Sedlachek) have been great. I’m super hard on them and they’ve been responding along the way to try to elevate their game and put forth good efforts.”

Everett Chang scored twice for Marin Catholic, which also got a pair of goals and an assist from Auggie Chapman. Kyle Landry, Jake Holmes and Ramsey Peterson each added a goal for the Wildcats.

“Our seniors have been great this year,” Grill said. “I think Elia and Alex Buck have been great. They are the tone-setters in the middle of our field.”

Anderluh finished with a team-high two goals for Redwood, while Luke Tempero and Everett O’Neil also scored.

Redwood’s O’Neil picked up a pass from Henry Baker and whipped it into the net early in the second quarter to cut the gap to 6-3, before the Wildcats answered with a pair of goals to effectively shut the door on the Giants.

“This is our rival. This is our must-win,” Gurvich said. “We just got outworked. Ground balls were a problem and that’s something we need to work on. If we fixed the ground balls, it would have been a closer game.”