St. Thomas Aquinas’ Goldenberg and Rosen are Broward Water Polo Coaches of the Year

St. Thomas Aquinas achieved more than it had in quite some time in both boys’ and girls’ water polo this season.

After several years of coming close, the Raiders’ boys won their first state championship since 2013.

And on the girls’ side, Aquinas finally broke through to the state tournament for the first time since 2010.

As a result, the coaches leading the charge on those impressive postseason runs - St. Thomas boys’ coach Michael Goldenberg and Raiders’ girls’ coach Anna Rosen are the Miami Herald’s Broward County Water Polo Coaches of the Year.

Goldenberg’s squad upended defending state champion Belen Jesuit 14-12 in a tough, back and forth battle in the state final led by this year’s Miami Herald Player of the Year, Samuel Collingwood and 2022 Player of the Year Nicholas Santarsiero.

Many figured Aquinas and Belen were on a collision course throughout the season after the teams tied in one match and the Wolverines won the other in a close outcome.

But the Raiders prevailed in the match that counted most thanks to some clutch play collectively in the fourth quarter.

“It’s amazing,” Goldenberg said after the win when he celebrated with his team in the pool. “I’m so proud of these kids. This was a special group, all of them, even the kids on the bench who didn’t get into the pool that much.”

Rosen’s squad didn’t get the chance to party in the pool like their boys’ counterparts, but they may have established a foundation to build for such a celebration in the near future.

Aquinas had not made it past the second round of regionals since 2011, but picked up wins over Krop and Miami Country Day before falling against eventual state runner-up Gulliver in the state semifinals.

While the Raiders graduate top scorer and this year’s Girls’ Player of the Year Rebekah Harkins, they return a strong core led by Angie Pasarin, Riley Andres and Sophia Williamson.

“Coach Anna instilled a saying for us: ‘Faith, Tradition, Excellence and Family,’” Harkins said. “That drove us and we overcame a lot of things during the season and let us get to our goal and we were happy about that.”