The Livingston High girls water polo team battled their way to an overtime victory over Beyer as Ella Lacey poured in seven goals and sophomore Isabella Juarez delivered the go-ahead goal in the final minute of the second overtime period to deliver a 10-9 win that set off a wild celebration on Wednesday afternoon at Livingston High School.

 

The win propels the Wolves to 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the Western Athletic Conference, all alone in second place behind undefeated Grace Davis. “It's a huge win to beat Beyer, who's one of the top three teams in the league,” said Livingston coach Max Anderson. “We’ve come so far from last year. Now I believe we're in second place, and it's just a huge motivation for the girls and the whole program.”

 

Livingston and Beyer went back and forth exchanging the lead throughout with neither team leading by more than two goals the whole game. Riette Braley led the Patriots with five goals. 

 

Lacey countered with seven goals on 10 shots. The junior left-hander who transferred from Hilmar came up big for the Wolves. “It was just taking advantage of opportunities,” Lacey said. “I actually wasn't expecting to score that many. My goal was like four or five goals, but just after that, it was crazy.”

 

Four of Lacey’s goals came in the third quarter to help the Wolves erase a two-goal deficit and take a 7-6 lead into the fourth quarter. “There's no words for how big she is for the team,” Anderson said. “She's a new player, a new addition to the team, and she's really made the biggest difference for this team. She's just awesome.”

 

Beyer was able to tie the game at 8-8 late in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime. Lacey scored in the first overtime period to give the Wolves a 9-8 lead. The Patriots’ Angelique Murillo Garcia scored to tie the game at 9-9 in the second three-minute overtime. That set the stage for Juarez, who fired the game-winning goal with 14.5 seconds left.

 

The Wolves were able to hold the Patriots scoreless on their final possession to close out the dramatic victory. “I think we just won with grit and determination,” Anderson said. “We have a good group of girls who are tough and never give up.”

 

This was a win the Wolves truly earned and they celebrated the hard fought victory. “It’s a feeling you can’t even describe,” Lacey said. “It’s a feeling of accomplishment and pride.”

 

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.