LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE — The Ramona girls water polo team left La Canada High School with heads held high Tuesday.
A heartbreaking 12-11 overtime loss in a CIF Southern Section Division 4 semifinal match ended a historic season for the Rams.
Ramona entered this season with only four playoff wins in program history, but the 2025-26 squad nearly matched that number. The program had never advanced past the second round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs in its six previous appearances.
“They played together like a family, which is the way it should be,” Ramona coach Cindy Robinson said. “All the work I threw at them, they never batted an eye. … They trusted me, but more important they trusted one another and played with a lot of heart.”
And that heart was evident Tuesday evening, as the Rams overcame a lengthy scoring drought and two-goal deficit entering the fourth period to force overtime. Ramona (18-10) trailed three times in overtime, as well, but found an equalizer on two occasions.
“I think we had a lot of confidence as we continued to grow together as a team,” senior Lillian McIntosh said about the program’s growth over the past few seasons. “The positivity rubbed off on one another and helped bring us as high as we were able to go.”
The squads traded six goals in the opening period. Sophia Korshakovsky scored a pair for La Canada, and Ramona goalie Elizabeth Betancourt stunned the crowd with her goal from the length of the pool.
Monique Sanchez scored a pair of goals during the second quarter, while Ixabela Whitlock added two penalty shots from the 5-meter spot to help Ramona take a 7-5 advantage into halftime.
The lead could have been larger, but the Rams went 1 for 4 on power plays in the first half and were only 1 of 7 in the match.
“That has been our nemesis all season,” Robinson said about struggling to score on 6-on-5 opportunities. “We probably work on that more than anything else, but we just can’t seem to execute it. I’d almost rather them not call it and just keep it 6 on 6.”
La Canada turned the tables on the Rams in the third period. Korshakovsky scored three goals for the Spartans, and Belinda Le added another, as the Spartans surged ahead 9-7 entering the final quarter.
Ramona snapped a 12-minute scoreless drought when McIntosh scored on an inside drive to cut the deficit in half with 3:24 remaining in regulation. The Rams drew even with 1:02 left on the clock. La Canada goalkeeper Isabella Andrew made an initial stop and collected the rebound, but Whitlock swooped in and swiped the ball from Andrew and then pushed it into the cage.
Overtime consists of two 3-minute sessions. Mina Sadeghi gave La Canada the lead with a cross-cage goal, but Sanchez answered on the ensuing possession with a cross-cager of her own. La Canada grabbed an 11-10 lead in the second overtime period, when Ye’s shot hit the bar and ricocheted off of the head of Betancourt and into the cage. On the next possession, Ye was called for an exclusion. But she did not leave the pool, resulting in a penalty shot that Whitlock stepped up and converted.
“I look around and think about where I’m going to shoot,” Whitlock said of her penalty-shot routine. “And don’t drop the ball.”
La Canada’s winning goal came following a timeout by the Spartans. Sadeghi passed the ball to Isabella Kurs, who immediately sent it back to the top point. Sadeghi caught the pass and fired from 6 meters away
“It was just confidence. I was still riding the high from the first shot,” Sadeghi said, referring to her goal earlier in the overtime period. “The pass was perfect, right on my hands. So I just ripped the ball, and it went in.”
La Canada (12-15) had to sweat out those final seconds before celebrating, however. Ramona earned another power-play opportunity, but the Rams’ final attempt to force sudden death sailed over the bar.
“Their dream of winning a CIF championship ended here tonight, but their dreams of life continue,” Robinson said. “And this will only help them on that journey. We basically played seven-man, iron-man water polo today, and they gave it their all to the end.”
Korshakovsky scored a match-high six goals, and Sadeghi added three more for La Canada. Andrew finished with nine saves.
Whitlock and Sanchez scored four and three goals, respectively, to lead Ramona. Betancourt finished with a match-high 16 saves.