Down to the Wire

Pali High Girls Water Polo Stunned by Birmingham in City Finals

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

No lead was safe throughout last Thursday’s City Section girls water polo championship game at L.A. Valley College.

Every time it seemed that Palisades had victory in hand, Birmingham answered with a rally of its own until, with under a minute left, a Patriots counterattack earned them a five-meter opportunity and Amelia Sanchez skipped in the shot to put Birmingham in front and it held on to win 17-16 in a thrilling final that included nine ties and seven lead changes and had fans on the edge of their seats.

Palisades was making its seventh finals appearance in eight seasons and the Dolphins got on the scoreboard first on a goal by Leighanne Estabrook 1:40 into the contest. Elyana Goren made it 2-1 at the 4:23 mark and after Birmingham scored two straight to take a 3-2 edge the Dolphins closed the first quarter with three  goals—the first by Addie Saab and the last two by Estabrook—to go ahead 5-3. Goals by Saab and Estabrook made it 7-3 early in the second quarter and Sydney Brouwer’s tally made it 8-4. A five-meter goal by Estabrook kept the margin at four until three consecutive goals by Sanchez pulled the Patriots back within one with under two minutes left in the second quarter. Estabrook stole the ball and passed to Maxine Eschger for a breakaway goal and Goren tallied with nine ticks remaining to make it 11-8 at halftime. It was looking good for top-seeded Palisades, which was trying to defend the title it won by defeating the Patriots 13-8 a year before in the same pool.

Birmingham, seeded No. 3 and seeking its third City crown, opened the second half with three goals in a row to pull even, 11-11, and from then on neither team led by more than one goal.

Goren scored her third goal to make it 12-11 Palisades, but Carmen Quinteros tied it 12-12. Estabrook scored the last of her six goals on a lob from Marieka  Possman to give the Dolphins a 13-12 advantage, Audrey Quezada tied it with 15 seconds left in the quarter, but Saab fired a laser off the post and in for her third goal to make it 14-13 Palisades with six seconds remaining.

Alex Levy played the first three quarters in goal before her sister Sophie minded the net for the final frenzied seven minutes. Sanchez and Adrienna Murphy  scored back-to-back goals to open the fourth quarter but Brouwer tied it 15-15 at the 5:02 mark and, after Sophie Levy made a fingertip save, Brouwer scored on a long shot off a deflection to put Palisades back on top. Karla Guel stuffed home a rebound to pull the Patriots even once again at 16-16. After Alex Levy’s shot glanced off the post the Patriots launched an outnumbered rush, causing the Dolphins to foul and giving Sanchez a chance for the game-winner. Brouwer’s shot hit the crossbar with 49 seconds left, but Birmingham was thwarted by Sophie Levy on its next possession. Lazaruk called timeout with 16 seconds left to draw up a play but the Patriots stole the ball with six seconds left to seal the win.

“We have to regroup and go win state,” said Pali High Coach Kirk Lazaruk, whose team got seeded fourth in the SoCal Regional Division III playoffs and opens against No. 5 Santa Fe Christian at 3:10 p.m. Friday at Segerstrom High in Santa Ana.