From the day City Section playoff brackets were released, Palisades High’s girls water polo team fully expected to be meeting Eagle Rock in the championship game at Valley College.
Birmingham must not have read the script because the third-seeded Patriots played like they were the favorites, scoring three quick goals and never trailing en route to a 13-7 upset of the second-seeded Dolphins in the semifinals Monday at Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center.
Palisades had lost in the finals to Eagle Rock three years in a row and was eager for another chance to dethrone the top-seeded Eagles. Birmingham had other ideas, breaking the game open with four straight goals in the third quarter to build an insurmountable 11-5 lead.
The Patriots scored three times on 5-meter shots (the first two by Erika Francisco and the third by Jaredd Franco) before the game was three minutes old, but Jackie Au converted on a 5-meter shot of her own, Lilly Ramos scored on a counterattack and Au flipped in a backhander to tie it 3-3 by the end of the quarter.
Genesis Carballo and Ramos scored in the second quarter and Carballo and Sammy Stahl scored in the final two minutes of the game.
Au netted eight goals in the Dolphins’ 12-5 quarterfinal victory over 10th-seeded San Pedro.
— Steve Galluzzo
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