Senior Arman Tarakhchyan led the way for the Cavaliers with 7 goals

History was in the air on Wednesday evening. Following a first-ever title win for Granada Hills in the CIF City Section D1 finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Palisades Dolphins jumped into the pool for the Oped Division Finals. The Dolphins came into the contest having won 43 consecutive playoff matches, the most by any team in any sport, and were looking for their 12th consecutive City championship. The Cavaliers were the 2023 City Section D1 champions, and also the last team to defeat the Dolphins in the playoffs in the 2011 quarterfinals, 14-3. The historic streak was broken and history was made as Cleveland took a commanding 15-4 victory to their first Open Division title and their first championship at the highest level since 2010.

“I was coaching (the Cavaliers) when that happened,” Cleveland head coach Sean Sniderman said regarding the 2011 Cavaliers victory over Palisades, “I stepped away for four years and then came back and it’s been a long time to get back. We took (Palisades) at halftime in 2019 and they ended up beating us, but we got them back finally.”

Senior Arman Tarakhchyan, who finished with seven goals, broke the seal less than two minutes into the game with a spinning shot immediately after receiving a pass with his back to the goal. The sideline erupted at the almost surprising goal. ”When the bench is loud and everyone has high energy, it becomes a lot of fun to play,” reflected Tarakhchyan afterwards when asked about his 7-goal performance.

“Arman has gone from a squirrelly tenth grader, ninth grader to a senior who has helped manage this team in a way that was really powerful.” Sniderman commented when asked about Tarakhchyan’s performance and leadership. “His ability to keep guys on the same page has been big. When he loses his cool the team falls apart, so it’s been a big year.”

The opening quarter was a back and forth affair as both teams were buoyed by the cheers from the stands. Palisades responded to the opening goal with one of their own just one minute later. The Cavaliers reclaimed the lead with a 6-on-5 advantage, with senior Charlie Rinsky scoring to put them ahead 2-1. The lead only lasted 33 seconds. Charlie Speiser scored for Palisades with 2:08 left in the first quarter and again at 1:32 left to give the Dolphins a short-lived 3-2 advantage, their only lead of the game. Tarakhchyan responded for Cleveland, capping a wild 150 seconds that featured four goals, firing home a blistering shot from distance to tie the game at 3-3 with a little over one minute left in the opening quarter.

The second quarter was tense throughout. Palisades had a few near-miss shots, and hit the goal frame twice, but the Cleveland defense did their part as well, taking away time and space for the Dolphins at every turn. The Cavaliers, however, were able to capitalize on their opportunities. Led by Tarakhchyan, who scored 45 seconds into the quarter and again with 3:22 left in the half, Cleveland scored three goals to take a 6-3 lead into halftime. Senior Mattias Ramirez scored the other goal for the Cavaliers.

The halftime break gave an extra kick for one team, and it wasn’t the 11-time defending champions that benefitted from the intermission. Cleveland gained possession at the swim-off for the third straight quarter, and 28 seconds later sophomore Gregory Dzhingneyan gave the Cavaliers a 4-goal lead at 7-3. Tarakhchyan had a golden opportunity to extend the lead 40 seconds later, but Dolphins goalie Logan Mirzadeh came up with a big save to keep the Cleveland lead at four.

The Cavaliers burst for three more quick goals at the end of the third quarter, with the first coming with 1:52 left and the final two coming in the final 31 seconds. First, senior Hudson Schneider scored to force a time out call by Palisades. Then, freshman Artur Petrosian fired home two goals 27 seconds apart to send the Cleveland faithful into a frenzy. The second goal by Petrosian came with four seconds left and the Cavaliers held a 10-3 advantage entering the fourth and final quarter.

“With my sophomore Greg and my freshman Artur, I’m excited about the next three to four years. They are incredibly big leaders at their age. When Arman fouls out, they step in and they take over and it’s seamless.”

Petrosian wasted little time completing his hat trick, scoring 28 seconds after Cleveland opened the quarter by winning the swim-off. Palisades was not ready to concede at that moment, with sophomore Hudson Mirzadeh finding the back of the goal 27 seconds later. The offensive barrage continued as Tarakhchyan scored his fourth goal of the game 17 seconds later, with 5:47 left in the game. Petrosian would score his fourth goal of the game one minute later, and Tarakhchyan sealed the victory with two more goals 35 seconds apart at 1:36 and 1:01 left in the game.

“It’s definitely an amazing feeling to break the streak for them, and to start a dynasty for us.” reflected Tarakhchyan, “This is just the beginning.”

The countdown was on, and the fans knew they were watching history. On the Cleveland side of the pool deck, the entire team, coaches and managers all ended up in the pool in celebration. Amid the celebration following the trophy presentation, Sniderman looked at Petrosian and said, “I want this for three more years”

Now the Cavaliers await their opponent in the CIF State tournament, as the brackets will be revealed shortly.