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Sports

Season Ends for Pali High Water Polo

The Dolphins fall to champion Cleveland 14-3 in the City quarterfinals.

In a season full of progress, the boys water polo team found out how far it still needs to go to reach the championship level Wednesday afternoon.

The eighth-seeded Dolphins entered their City Section quarterfinal game against top-seeded Cleveland riding a tidal wave of confidence after Monday's 17-8 rout over Verdugo Hills in the first round and arrived at the Cavaliers' indoor pool determined to upset the reigning City champions.

For one period anyway, an upset seemed entirely possible. Neither team scored on its first three possessions, but the Cavaliers struck first when junior hole setter Evin Lilly fired a low shot past Palisades goalie Jake Venckus at the 4:14 mark. Patrick Huggins almost tied it on a breakaway moments later, but junior goalie George Achi made the first of several early saves to keep his team in front.

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After Tristan Marsh missed from point-blank range, Huggins then rattled a shot off the crossbar and Lilly scored on the counterattack for a 2-0 Cleveland lead. Huggins netted the Dolphins' first goal with 29 seconds left, but the Cavaliers regained the two-goal advantage a mere 15 seconds later on Lilly's one-timer off a give-and-go pass by Daniel Brogermackey.

"Our focus was on getting back on defense and making them beat us with their normal offense, not off fast breaks and turnovers," Palisades Coach Adam Blakis said. "For the most part we did that, but their hole set was dominant, they could match us in speed and their technique was far better. We had some good shots, we just don't have enough skill yet to finish off the plays."

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Anton Pronichenko brought Palisades to within a goal, 2-1, on a skip shot with 5:12 left in the second period, but that was as close as the Dolphins would get. Achi thwarted Marsh's breakaway attempt at the halfway mark, then the home team erupted for three goals in just over one minute. Lilly scored at the 1:03 mark, then Aritouch Vongkavivath scored twice—the second time just before the buzzer to increase Cleveland's lead to 6-2 at halftime. 

"I think Palisades actually called the first timeout and I think we were only up one goal at the time," Cleveland Coach Gabriel Hernandez said. "At that point, the thing was awareness, getting back on defense and not having tunnel vision. George has been stepping up for us in goal and did it again today. I didn't know much about Pali except I knew they'd be fast. For a first-year program I'm very impressed. Mark my words—they're a team to watch out for next season."

In the third period, Cleveland showed why it is the defending champion and is favored to win the City title again. The Cavaliers scored five times, including a penalty shot and a breakaway goal by Alan O'Hara. They increased the lead to 13-2 in the fourth period before Huggins scored his second goal with 3:01 left. Lilly's sixth goal on a turnaround shot closed out the scoring at the 1:05 mark.

"We're looking to defend our championship," Hernandez said. "We wanted to send a message that we're still the team to beat. We feel our league is very strong. Birmingham is formidable, we split with them, but hopefully we'll do it."

At least one Palisades player was not overly impressed with the Cavaliers.

"They saw where the ball was going and anticipated every move, but I'm real disappointed because I believe we had the ability to win," said Sam Elias, who assisted on one of Huggins' goals. "We played hardcore defense but they got away with a lot of fouls the refs weren't calling. This team only beat us 14-3 whereas Venice beat us 15-3 last time. We know we can beat Venice because we almost did it earlier in the season."

Despite the season-ending loss, the Dolphins grew in leaps and bounds in their inaugural campaign and the future looks bright considering that the team was second in league and wound up with 14 victories despite a roster full of players who weren't even exposed to the sport until tryouts.

"This season has far exceeded my expectations," Blakis said. "I would've been satisfied just winning a game and here we are in the playoffs. I definitely think the league title is within reach next year." 

Score by Periods

1

2

3

4

Final

Palisades

1

1

0

1

3

Cleveland

3

3

5

3

14

Goals: Palisades — Huggins 2, Pronichenko. Cleveland — Lilly 6, Vongkavivath 5, Brogermackey 2, O'Hara.

Records: Palisades 14-8; Cleveland 18-4.

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