The562’s coverage of aquatic sports in Long Beach in 2025-26 is sponsored by Watersafe Swim School.
The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
It was a familiar foe for the Millikan girls’ water polo team in their first-round matchup, hosting Canyon who they defeated earlier in the season. And while the implications were much higher, the result remained the same, as the Rams poured it on once again for an 18-7 CIF-SS Division 2 win at Long Beach City College.
“We’ve gotten better but they’ve also improved, and we knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game,” said Millikan coach Mike Carrillo. “You saw that in the first quarter when they put it on us, but we just had to stay focused and play our game. We knew they’d come out strong and they did. Canyon and their coaching staff are great and we were happy to have them.”
The Rams were led by sophomore McKenna Rosenberg, who racked up a game-high seven goals and outscored the Comanches by herself, including five in the first half.
“We talk about starting with a head up mentally and starting first, and it was really good to start off strong,” Rosenberg said. “It was a bit close in the first quarter which was exciting and it made us want to fight even more. I wanted everyone to play their hardest and I wanted to play my best for them. I’m just so happy with this team and it’s pretty cool getting to score so much.”
Though Millikan never trailed the entire game, the opening half proved to be the closest stretch between the two teams, as Canyon kept itself within range and the Rams led by just one goal after the first quarter.
Defense was key to creating a bigger cushion in the second quarter, as Carrillo preached playing with all six players and swarming to the ball. That helped Millikan transition into its counterattack, where they were by far the faster team. Led by three second-quarter goals from Rosenberg, the Rams built an 8–4 lead at halftime.
“Defense is the best offense,” Rosenberg said. “If we’re able to continuously get stops and turn them into goals on the other end, it’s pretty epic. It’s how we play the game, so we’ve been working on our defense and trying to get as many shot blocks as we can while just playing as hard as possible.”
The Rams immediately showed their second-half strength coming out of the break, putting together their best scoring stretch of the night. Millikan poured on five straight goals in the first four minutes of the third quarter, including a pair from Madelyn Huber.
Kyley Seeds tacked on a pair of third-quarter goals to finish the night with three, while Shae Parkhill contributed all three of her goals in the fourth quarter. Freshman Sophia Newland and Huber each finished the night with a pair while Grace Darby also got on the board with a goal.
The result marks Millikan’s fifth straight win as the Rams look ahead to the second round where they’ll travel to Irvine on Tuesday to take on Woodbridge at 5pm. The Warriors defeated Thousand Oaks 13-9 to advance to Tuesday afternoon’s match.
“If we look at how much we’ve done and how far we’ve gone, we’re definitely proud and feel we should be here, but it’s not over yet and it’s only going to get harder,” Carillo said. “We just need to stick with it. It’s been a long season but it’s paying off now.”
