Mendes helps Oakdale water polo crush Vintage in Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals

A smartphone app made the Oakdale High School girls water polo team the smart choice in Tuesday’s Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals.

Still, the Mustangs needed second-half heroics from an unheralded junior to deliver the victory.

One day after a Timehop photo from a win over Vintage three years ago began circulating among the team, Kate Mendes pushed Oakdale into the Division II final with a breakthrough performance against those same Crushers.

Mendes scored two goals in a 44-second span in the third period as the two-time defending champions celebrated a 6-4 win.

Third-seeded Oakdale (18-9) will defend its title Saturday at the Roseville Aquatics Complex against No. 4 Del Oro, which upset top-seeded St. Mary’s 7-5 in the other semifinal.

“We’ve been preparing so much for this game,” Mendes said. “It’s been our goal since the (regular season) ended. It’s been our only goal.”

Goalie Caitlin Golding made seven saves as the Mustangs avenged an 8-4 loss to Vintage in the Julian Szmidt Tournament last month.

“We knew we would have to play this game to get back to the section finals, which was what we’ve been working for all season,” Oakdale coach Diane Kline said. “To know we were the underdogs, that we lost by four the last time we played, and that the girls stayed focused and kept their eyes on the prize, it feels very ... Good isn’t a strong-enough word for it. It feels amazing.”

Kline couldn’t say she was totally surprised by the outcome. On Monday night, her Timehop app recalled a photo from Oakdale’s 6-5 semifinal win over Vintage in a driving rain three years ago. Kline immediately shared the picture on a group message to her team, along with other inspirational thoughts.

Mendes was on the messaging thread. She just wasn’t in the photo. The junior driver began playing for the Mustangs in 2013, a year after the picture was taken.

No matter. She was the star of Tuesday’s game. Mendes scored a team-high three goals, including back-to-back strikes in the third period to help Oakdale separate.

The first came with the Mustangs in a man-up situation. After Sydney Flint received an ejection, Oakdale worked the ball around the perimeter to the open player, Mendes, who ripped a shot to the right post to make it 4-2. Seconds later, Mendes slipped a shot under goalie Nathalie Brewster’s guard at the near post to make it 5-2.

“That’s been the story of our season. When we’ve needed someone to step up and have a great game, there have been people laying in wait, ready to have their moment. This is hers,” Kline said of Mendes. “She stepped up in a big way for us. It was unexpected but much appreciated.”

Mendes said her confidence soared with her first goal – a near-post strike at the 3:55 mark in the first period. By the third period, she was ready to seize the moment.

“I knew the game was close and every goal mattered at that point,” Mendes said. “So I took every opportunity I could to help the team out.

“When I did score, it felt pretty good. It was exciting. After one went in, I felt like I could score three, four, five more; whatever it would take for us to win.”

Kate Allen, Emily Bennett and Clare McKeon also scored for Oakdale, which will look to avenge another loss at the Julian Szmidt Tournament in Saturday’s final. Del Oro edged Oakdale 4-3 in their first meeting.

“It will be another defensive game,” Kline said.

Vintage never developed a rhythm offensively. Kathleen Schafle tallied all four of the Crushers’ goals, three of which came on 5-meter penalty shots.

Schafle gave Vintage some momentum just before the half, scoring twice to make it 2-2.

Kline wasn’t fazed by the roller-coaster start. She felt all along the game would be decided in the second half and trusted the game plan and her team’s conditioning.

“I knew they were in great shape – we condition a lot – and I knew they were focused and physically capable of playing four quarters,” Kline said. “I wasn’t necessarily uneasy. We just had to make sure we tightened things up on defense in the second half.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 5:48 PM with the headline "Mendes helps Oakdale water polo crush Vintage in Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals."