The562’s coverage of water polo & swimming is sponsored by the Aquatic Capital of America Foundation.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Poly alum Jayon Brown and PlayFair Sports Management.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by JuJu Smith-Schuster and the JuJu Foundation.
The Long Beach Poly girls’ water polo team’s playoff run was cut short Wednesday evening against JSerra, but that shouldn’t diminish the team’s historic season. The Jackrabbits’ semifinal appearance etches their name in history alongside the 2018 Poly girls’ team as the only two to make it past the first round in the CIF-SS playoffs.
Head Coach Ryan Rockenbach said that despite their 12-1 loss agains the No. 1 seed in the Division 3 bracket, the team should hold pride in their historic run.
“That’s one of the things I really want my girls to focus on as we leave the pool today, is that we are a history making team,” said Rockenbach. “I am incredibly proud of the season that they’ve had and the growth they’ve made since the beginning of the season, and I’m really happy with the way the postseason went. Obviously I would’ve rather walked away today with a win but I think that there are really great things and we have a promising future because of this season.”
The game’s opening minutes were a defensive slugfest, with neither team able to find the back of the cage. Finally, after five minutes, JSerra found the net to take a 1-0 lead.
Poly, looking to match JSerra’s goal, picked their pace up down the pool finding an opening for a goal before whistles blew from either official. However, a mishap at the scorer’s table wiped the Jackrabbits’ potential game-tying goal off the board. Poly would head into the second quarter down one, in a game that felt fairly even.
Coach Rockenbach said after the game that the early goal getting taken away took some momentum away from his team as he tried to get his girls back in the game.
“A little bit, yeah, definitely took a little bit of momentum away. But that first half was defined by the defense of both teams. A little table mistake, things happen in sports. But, we were playing hard and fighting hard and I think we were able to at least keep a little bit of momentum after that.”
JSerra led 4-0 at half before exploding to start off the second half with a five-goal third quarter. The Lions turned defense into offense, avoiding turnovers and taking away the Jackrabbits counter-attack offense.
“I think that one of our biggest strengths is counter-attack offense, and that was something taken away from us by JSerra’s defense,” said Rockenbach. “They were just as fast as us if not faster, and when they’re able to take that away from us we become a little stagnant offensively.”
Poly also lost key starters due to exclusions, leaving the Jackrabbits shorthanded throughout the game.
“I think it started to go downhill at the start of the second half, when one of our top goal scorers, Anna, got her third exclusion,” said Rockenbach. “When you don’t have one of your starters in it definitely makes things a bit harder.”
The Lions have been an unstoppable force in these playoffs, winning their four playoff games by a combined score of 71-9. They’ll face Sunny Hills on Saturday for the D3 title.
Despite JSerra’s high powered offense, Poly senior goal-keeper Sienna Groves had an impressive high school finale in the cage. Groves ended the day with 12 saves, feeding off the energy of the crowd filled with her friends and family.
Rockenbach said seniors such as Groves have a huge accomplishment this season to look back on following their final high school game.
“They get to hang their hat on being the Poly team that went to the semifinals, which is an incredible achievement. And they did it in the highest division Poly’s ever been in, so they’re always gonna have that and be able to look back at this playoff run and be proud of it. And the impact that they’ve had on all the players that are gonna be returning next year, and how they set a standard for the program to meet. They’ve been incredibly impactful and great leaders. It always sucks when it’s your last game of your high school career—and I even remember that myself—but I’m incredibly proud of that group.”
