The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.
The562’s coverage of aquatic sports in Long Beach is sponsored by the Aquatic Capital of America Foundation.
With a big Senior Night crowd on hand and second place in the Moore League on the line, the stage was set for a thrilling girls’ water polo clash between Long Beach Poly and Millikan on Tuesday.
The game didn’t disappoint.
Poly led at halftime after a very defensive start, but Millikan’s offense came alive in the second half on its way to an 8-6 victory on that road that all but clinched second place for the Rams.
“We definitely adjusted (at halftime) because they came out pressing us hard and double teaming our center,” Millikan coach Mike Carrillo said. “We just had to work the ball and get it to (Kylie) when we got her free or step our game up shooting and that was with the lob shots.”
It was second-half lob shot goals from Grace Darby, Shae Parkhill and other Rams that proved to be the difference. Parkhill scored three goals while Darby chipped in a goal and two assists. Kyley Seeds scored twice while Maggie Wells and Mckenna Rosenberg also scored for the Rams.
“We just kind of knew it instinctively,” Parkhill said of the lob shots. “Once you play the game and learn how the goalie moves then reading it comes easier. It’s a feeling. I’m usually not (good at lob shots) that’s not my strength, it just happened today.”
These teams played an overtime game in a tournament earlier this season that saw the Rams eke out a victory, so that experience had Millikan extra focused.
“It’s all about mindset,” Seeds said. “The score is always 0-0, and we need to keep pushing and stay aggressive the entire game.”
Poly came out with an aggressive game plan on both ends of the pool. It took less than a minute for Sequoia Newman to convert a power play opportunity off a nice feed from Marcelina Leonor. Newman finished with a hat tick and Leonor had three assists.
Millikan used a different approach defensively by crashing hard at the 2-meter. That led to more than a handful of key steals that limited Poly’s shot opportunities. One of those steals and counter attacks led to Seeds’ first goal that made it 1-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Mikayla Shekell scored the first of her two goals in the opening minute of the second quarter to put Poly ahead.
Seeds found Parkhill for the game-tying goal a minute later, and then the two defenses traded blows for most of the quarter. With 10 seconds left on the clock, a beautiful pass from Alyssa Greenwood to Cailey Christen gave Poly a 3-2 lead at halftime.
“We were really set on winning and as soon as they scored I think we felt a little defeated because we wanted to come out strong,” Darby said. “But then in the second half we really calmed down and came out stronger… We’ve been working on passing (in practice) especially our long passes, and those came in the second half because they were pressing us.”
“It’s all about practice,” Seeds added. “We’re a much better team now because we communicate better and our passes are better. That’s what makes it work.”
Millikan used that deft passing and lob shots to score four unanswered goals in the third quarter while goalkeeper Hailey Suttle shut down the Poly offense. The All-League senior finished with eight saves and said that the more offensive second half was her motivation.
“When I see my offense pick up I know that it’s my job to back them up too,” Suttle said. “It’s my job to keep that energy. And when I see the (opponents) offense pick up, that makes me want to block more and go that extra step to make sure no goals go in and back up my offense that’s working so hard.”
“She is our defense,” Carrillo said of Suttle. “She is our voice out there making it happen and she really turns it on in the game. She takes it to heart and is incredible.”
Millikan led 6-4 at the end of the third quarter, and Parkhill hit another lob shot to give her team a cushion down the stretch.
With only one more league game left on the schedule for both teams, they can start to look forward to the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
“We’re very excited for (playoffs) and we’ve been improving all season and talking about how we’ve gotten better,” Carrillo said. “It’s about a serious attitude in practice. They see it, they want it and I couldn’t be more proud.”
“As the season goes on we’re getting a lot more cohesive, we’re able to read each other,” Parkhill said. “It’s kind of reading each other’s minds. It’s muscle memory, we don’t even think about it because we’re so in tune with each other.”
