Palisadians Power Loyola Water Polo

One is a scorer, the other a stopper. Both have been vital to the success of the Loyola High varsity boys water polo team.

Goalie Kieran Sheridan and driver Ryan Wilson don’t drive to and from school together, but the two Palisadians hang out after games and they both have the same goal: a CIF championship.

“We’ve made it to the semis the last four years and we want to take it one step further,” says Sheridan,  who lives in the Village and went to St. Matthew’s. “It’s important to us.”

Loyola defeated Los Alamitos 13-8 in the second round of the Division I playoffs, then beat Long Beach Wilson 8-7 in overtime Saturday to reach its fifth straight semifinal. The Cubs avenged two one-goal losses earlier this season to Wilson, which also knocked them out of the playoffs last fall. Loyola took on top-seeded Mater Dei in the semifinals Wednesday in Irvine.

Sheridan, a senior, played AYSO and PPBA growing up and would like to keep  playing water polo in college, perhaps nearby at Loyola Marymount. He played on Rose Bowl Water Polo Club’s 18-under team last year and ironically his younger brother Kent is a driver on the JV team at Mission League rival Harvard-Westlake.

Wilson is a junior driver, who has been on varsity since he was a freshman and is one of the team’s top scorers, netting four goals against Los Alamitos. He lives in Huntington Palisades and plays at the Jonathan Club along with Loyola teammate Corbett Kruse, who scored the winning goal against Wilson late in the second overtime period.

After moving to Pacific Palisades in fifth grade, Wilson attended Corpus Christi, where he played flag football in the fall, basketball in the winter and volleyball in the spring. His younger brother Jack is a driver on the Cubs’ JV team along with Corbett’s younger brother Cade.

“I played just about evert sport growing up,” said Wilson, who plays for the Los Angeles Water Polo Club’s 18-under team. “I’ve only played water polo since the end of 7th grade but I love it and I want to play Division I (in college).”

The immediate goal for both Palisadians, however, is helping Loyola win its first Southern Section water polo championship. The Cubs were runners-up in 2009.