Upper Perkiomen's boys water polo team seems headed back to the postseason. On Monday, the team recorded an 11-9 road win over Muhlenberg. Trevor Cairns, a

Indians junion Kyle Kovalenko takes aim on the  goal before firing off a shot in the match against Springfield Township last week.

senior captain, scored twice during the final three minutes to snap a 9-9 tie.

            "The game was tight," head coach Brien Kalnoski said. "But we were able to pull it out. We were not as sharp as we could have been, but we made the right decisions and were able to grind it out."

            At 4-1 in the Eastern Conference and 11-3 overall, the coach could not confirm if the Indians will earn a berth to the conference tournament. He said the conference website hasn't been updated recently.

            "An announcement should be made soon," Kalnoski said. "But with the record we have, I don't think I'd be going out on a limb by saying we should qualify."

            As far as the Small School State Championships, the coach expects the Indians to compete for the title. Last season, the team finished second in the tournament.

            "We're on the right track," Kalnoski said. "We need to continue to play well."

            Against the Mules, the Tribe fell behind 4-1. However, the players did not panic, according to the coach.

            "You never want to be down by three goals," Kalnoski said. "But we kept chipping away. We've had some tough games."

            He said the boys relied on the experience gained during two previous one-goal victories to rally. Consecutive goals by Cairns in the fourth quarter staked Upper Perkiomen to an 11-9 advantage with 1 minute, 20 seconds remaining. According to the coach, his team forced a turnover and did a good job playing "keep away" during the final 80 seconds.

            On Thursday, Oct. 3, the Indians posted a 13-4 victory over Springfield, the team they lost to in the Small School State title game last season. Kalnoski called it one a complete effort.

            "It was one of our better games," he said. "We played really well from the beginning to the end."

            Upper Perkiomen took on Perkiomen Valley on Wednesday. On Saturday, the   team is scheduled to take on Central York and Springfield during the Panther Invite Tournament at Central York High School.

The Indians will conclude their regular season with matches Tuesday at home against Upper Merion and Thursday, Oct. 17 at Reading.

The girls (2-2 conference, 4-10 overall) lost 11-5 to Muhlenberg on Monday. Five days earlier, they were defeated 6-2 by Springfield.

According to Kalnoski, the girls team – which has five players with no previous experience – have a shot to qualify for the conference playoffs with some wins. The coach said he's not sure if they will qualify for the Small School State Tournament.

"It would be really good experience for them," he said.