Dynastic Dolphins

Water Polo Defeats Birmingham for Third Straight City Title

“I believe that we will win!” “I believe that we will win!”

That was the mantra senior captain Griffin Koffman and the Palisades High boys water polo team chanted over and over again at an ever-increasing volume before diving in to start Wednesday night’s City Section final at East Valley High in North Hollywood.

Once the game began, the Dolphins showed that along with belief they possessed the will and skill to hold off top-seeded Birmingham 11-9, capturing their third consecutive championship and declaring themselves a dynasty.

“Not to sound cocky, but we thought we might have it much easier than that but they came out and brought a fight,” said Zach Senator, who paced the Dolphins with five goals, four drawn penalties and four key steals — several in the final frenzied minute that sealed the victory. “We didn’t play as well as we should’ve but at the end we started playing team defense and we tired them out, which we knew would happen because all of us swim.”

It was the Dolphins’ second finals triumph over Birmingham, which was seeking its fifth City title and first since 2011. Palisades defeated the Patriots 13-10 to win its first title two years ago and beat El Camino Real 11-6 to repeat last year.

There was a problem with the heater at East Valley High’s pool that morning but it was fixed in time for the final to be played as scheduled. If the water was cold, the Dolphins brought the heat early, scoring just over one minute into the game on a five-meter shot by Mitchell Kim. After Senator found the left corner of the net from long range, Kim maneuvered behind the defense and scored on a breakaway to make it 3-0.

While Palisades looked sharp from the get-go, Birmingham struggled to find its offensive flow, failing to convert on back-to-back 6-on-5 situations. Senior goalie Blake Levine saved a five-meter skip shot by James Gillis, who finally got his team on the scoresheet on a breakaway late in the first quarter.

Kim, Kian Lotfi and Senator each scored in the second quarter to give second-seeded Palisades a 6-4 halftime lead.

“This means a lot to me because I kind of knew that I have to perform if we’re going to win,” Kim said. “Before, I couldn’t get in the water — I sat on the bench, but I played a big part in winning the title this year.”

The Patriots started fast in the third quarter, tying it 6-6 on two quick goals by Gillis, but Senator scored on a man-advantage at the halfway mark of the quarter to put the Dolphins back in front. Birmingham’s Joseph Rivera answered 22 later to level the score but Senator arced the ball over goalie Ilya Parkhomenka, making it 8-7 Palisades heading to the fourth quarter.

“We were expecting to be up by more but we knew the fourth quarter was ours,” Koffman said. “That’s all conditioning from hell week that Coach [Adam Blakis] puts us through every year.”

Levine made 11 saves, Kim scored four goals and Lotfi had a goal, four assists and four steals while playing air-tight defense on Gillis, the Patriots’ career record-holder in goals.

“I tried to make it hard for him, get him tired and out-think him,” Lotfi said of Birmingham’s top gun. “There’s a saying ‘Play with your mind, not your body.’”

Koffman outswam Parkhomena to a loose ball, whirled around and fired into the open net to give the Dolphins an 11-8 lead with 2:37 left.

“I was number 21 the last two years − they ran out of numbers −so to get one this year is definitely worth the wait,” Koffman said.

Levine, a senior transfer from Brentwood School, played a vital role in Palisades’ third title run, for he replaced the graduated Jake Venckus. Levine allowed his team to build an early lead by thwarting several quality chances on 6-on-5s in the first quarter.

“It’s really stressful being in goal − you feel all the pressure,” Levine said. “I didn’t feel as much a part of the team early when I wasn’t able to play, but I do now.”

Unlike last season, when hole set Luka Kosanin was the focal point, the Dolphins (20-12) moved the ball around the perimeter more this year to diversify their attack.

“What’s fun about our offense  is that anyone can score,” Kim said. “We don’t rely on one guy.”

Freshman Sammy Speiser, who plays club for Westside Aquatics, was excited to win City in his first season.

“At tryouts I didn’t even think I’d make varsity,” he said. “I’m glad I did. We have so many good players so I just want to do what I can to help the team.”

After the awards presentation, Lotfi and Levine pushed assistant coach Kirk Lazaruk into the pool and Isai Elias did the same to his brother, assistant coach Sam Elias. The Dolphins joined their coaches in one last celebratory swim, their championship medals still draped around their necks.

It was a satisfying end to an injury-plagued season for the Dolphins, who pulled off the three-peat despite losing last year’s “Core Four” starters to graduation. Now the challenge is to make it four in a row.

“I don’t know what the secret is, but me, Mitchell and Kian are working well together and hopefully we can do it again next year,” said Senator, who was named MVP at Friday night’s banquet after leading the team in goals (71), assists (69) and drawn penalties (59). “Personally I’m going to try to get stronger and we’re going to keep getting better. We lose Blake but we have Ross Aronson who is a really good goalie so I think we’ll be even better next year.”

Kim was named Most Improved Player and Lotfi was Best Defensive Player after racking up a team-best 91 steals.