Gulliver girls’ water polo captures elusive state championship with comeback win
Sometimes a mental block is the toughest thing to overcome.
Gulliver girls’ water polo teams have come so close multiple times in recent years to winning a state championship.
But the Raiders spent the past dozen years waiting for a breakthrough.
It finally came on Saturday afternoon.
Once again, Gulliver found itself potentially seeing that elusive title slip away against Sanford Seminole in the state water polo final at Belen Jesuit.
But the Raiders turned things around during a dominant second half, which propelled them to an 8-5 victory and the school’s first girls’ state title since 2013.
Gulliver (27-1) avenged its only defeat of the season, which was an 8-7 setback against Seminole on March 14.
“We had been preparing for this for years,” Gulliver coach Carroll Vaughan said. “We had some great practices this week. We talked about falling behind and staying in our game. We had a sports psychologist come in from (University of Miami) and talk to them.”
Gulliver had finished state runner-up four times since winning the championship in 2013. The names changed as the Raiders lost either at state or in key regional games against different teams like Ransom Everglades, Winter Garden West Orange, Orlando Lake Nona and others. But the outcomes remained the same.
On Saturday, the Raiders appeared to be headed for more disappointment early as they fell behind 4-1 after a quarter and a half against the reigning state champions.
But then sophomore Isabella Ten Have struck with a goal just before halftime. She then followed with another shortly after halftime.
“We had different people scoring, and ever since that Ransom game, we’ve played so well,” Vaughan said. “And our goalie? Unbelievable. Isabella is an amazing center. Good size and quickness. We felt we could outnumber them and that we had so many girls that they couldn’t cover.”
Ten Have then tied the game, but Seminole answered moments later.
Kathleen Serig then equalized the match with 4:48 remaining in the fourth quarter. It was the first of three consecutive goals which helped the Raiders seal the outcome after Emma Preston gave Gulliver its first lead with 3:45 left.
“I had faith in our goalie and our team and it was about whoever wanted it more and we did,” Ten Have said. “Physically, we knew we could beat them but for us it was more of a mental thing. We were ready for them. We saw a sports psychologist, who just said to relax and take a deep breath. Trust in your team.”
Freshman goalie Sofia Beltran, as she did throughout the playoffs, dominated in the second half with multiple key saves. One of her most important came with 1:39 left when she batted away a shot from close range after Seminole rushed up the pool on a counter attack.
Ten Have scored with 35 seconds left into an empty net after Seminole pulled its goalie for an extra attacker.
“I knew we had it in us. We’re super hyped,” Beltran said. “I haven’t processed yet that we won state. That’s crazy.”
