Photo: Steve Galluzzo
Palisades High’s boys water polo team got all it could handle from Birmingham last Friday night but scored three times in less than one minute late in the fourth quarter en route to a 13-10 playoff victory at Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center.
Charlie Speiser led the way with four goals for the No. 1-seeded Dolphins (12-16), including a 5-meter shot with 2:37 left. Benjamin Mokhtar put the game out of reach on a bending shot just inside the far post one minute later. Hudson Mirzadeh and Jake Gallagher each scored three goals.
Palisades advanced to yesterday’s LA City Open Division final at Valley College against No. 2 Cleveland (16-9), which routed San Pedro 17-2 in the other semifinal.
The Dolphins entered Wednesday’s championship encounter as defending champions, having not lost in the playoffs since 2011. They won the inaugural Open Division title last fall while Cleveland took the Division I crown.
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