Pali High Water Polo Downs Dons

This has been a season filled with "firsts" for the boys water polo squad and the Dolphins crossed one more off their list Monday afternoon with a 17-8 triumph over Verdugo Hills in their City Section playoff opener at the .

In the program's first year, Coach Adam Blakis has seen his team improve all season long, finish second in league play and now win its first playoff game, led by four goals from Danny Hernandez and three apiece from Patrick Huggins and Alex Feizbakhsh. The Dolphins were seeded No. 8 in the 16-team bracket, only one position ahead of Monday's opponent, yet in the pool they lapped the ninth-seeded Dons.

"Speed was a big part of it—they couldn't keep up with us," Blakis said."Mainly, it was exploiting their weaker players and understanding that we were much faster than them."

Blakis is pleasantly suprised how much his team has improved since tryouts.

"When the season began I never thought we'd make the playoffs so the fact that we not only made it, but won today is great. I'm proud of how far we've come in such a short time."

Verdugo Hills hung tough early, trailing only 3-1 going after the first period. However, Palisades scored three goals in the first two minutes of the second period, including back-to-back goals by Hernandez less than 40 seconds apart. The Dolphins opened an 8-3 halftime lead and left Verdugo Hills Coach Dave Krausse searching for answers.

"We knew they're a new program and relatively inexperienced," Krausse said. "We had to control the shot clock and not get countered. At halftime I tried to settle my kids down, get them to play smarter and make intelligent passes. I was impressed that Palisades was very fast the whole game long. They kept bringing in subs so they never got tired."

Huggins scored on a backhanded shot and Hernandez lofted a shot just beyond the reach of Verdugo Hills goalie Garrett DeGrasse to give the Dolphins a 10-4 lead. DeGrasse was under siege all game and finished with nine saves for the Dons, who crept to within 10-6 before Alex Feizbakhsh scored wth 25 seconds left to put Palisades ahead 11-6 after three periods.   

Hernandez set the tone with five steals in the first period alone.

"Defense is where we'e improved the most," said Sam Elias, who scored one goal for the Dolphins. "That and our communication with the goalies. Our weak point is knowing who the open man is in six-on-five situations. 

The Dolphins pulled away in the final frame as four different players scored the last four goals. Jake Venckus and Ben Kent again split time in goal, Venkus playing the first and third periods, Kent the second and fourth.

"It's my job to stay on everybody, we keep pressing and make sure everyone's where they should be on defense," said Venckus, who had all but lost his voice from shouting to his teammates. "They didn't have too many chances [to score]. When the defense plays like this, it makes my job easier."   

Palisades will travel to top-seeded and defending champion Cleveland in the quarterfinals Wednesday and Venckus said the Dolphins are out to spring the upset: "Go over there and give 'em hell. We're not going to let them win."

Elias believes Palisades' stiff competition at the South Bay Tournament earlier in the season could pay dividends against Cleveland.

"That was an eye-opening experience because we saw how good the top teams out there are," Elias said. "We put a real scare in Venice and they didn't see that coming, so hopefully we can do the same thing to Cleveland. As a team we should be able to stand up against them."

Score by Periods

1

2

3

4

Final

Verdugo Hills

1

2

3

2

8

Palisades

3

5

3

6

17

Goals: Verdugo Hills — Wallace 7, Johnson. Palisades — Hernandez 4, Huggins 3, Feizbakhsh 3, Pronichenko 2, Kosanin, Marsh, Elias, Koffman, Rhamara.

Records: Verdugo Hills 6-7; Palisades 14-7.

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