Dolphins Set Scoring Record in Playoff Opener

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Rarely are playoff games decided in the first three minutes, but that is all it took for the Palisades High girls water polo team to put last Friday’s City Section first rounder out of reach.

The Dolphins entered the 16-team tournament as the No. 1 seed and they looked the part, netting seven goals in the first 180 seconds en route to a 34-0 victory over No. 16 Los Angeles—the most goals the team has scored in a game and the largest margin of victory in the program’s seven-year history. The previous record for goal differential was 25, set in a 26-1 league win against Banning on Jan. 11, 2016.

Sydney Brouwer opened the scoring spree 15 seconds in and Leighanne Estabrook tallied the second goal 14 seconds later. Sammy Stahl made it 3-0 with less than one minute elapsed and Brouwer scored her second goal 20 seconds after that. Cynthia Garcia’s goal at the three-minute mark made it 7-0 and by the time the first seven-minute quarter  ended the Dolphins led 13-0.

More important than records to Coach Kirk Lazaruk was that everyone in uniform played and everyone scored—even goalies Chloe Berrisford and Jessie Taft, who each made one save. A testament to the squad’s togetherness came with 2:50 left when Taft became the last player to add a mark on the scoresheet and was cheered enthusiastically by all of her teammates poolside.

“It goes to show every game counts,” said senior captain Elena Saab, referring to a 5-4 win versus Monrovia at the Burbank Tournament in early December which likely earned the Dolphins the top seed over reigning City champion Eagle Rock. “We beat a team they lost to and that was a big  factor.”

Brouwer and Maxine Eschger scored four goals each. Sammy Stahl, Marieka Possman and Anna Clements all had three. Estabrook, Garcia, Nicole Kim, Ally Stahl and Cherrie Herrera all scored twice while Saab, Berrisford, Emily Bunnapradist, Samantha Rene, Charlize Samperio, Sophie Levy and Taft added one apiece.

“Having that early lead helped get everyone’s spirits up,” added Saab, whose sister Clara was a senior last year when Palisades fell to Eagle Rock in the finals. “The special thing about this team is we all really love each other. Winning City would be so great. That’s our goal. I couldn’t think of a better way to finish off my last season.”   

Palisades took on ninth-seeded Kennedy in the quarterfinals Tuesday and prevailed 17-8.

“I try to make sure I’m open because more teams are targeting Leighanne,” Brouwer said after scoring seven goals. “We’re really aware of each other.”

The Dolphins host No. 5 Granada Hills in the semifinals Friday with the winner advancing to the championship game next Thursday night at Valley College.