The seniors that make up the founding class of the Pacifica High girls' water polo team hoped to break new ground one last time before they waded off to college.

Instead, an agonizing afternoon in the offensive end held the Tritons to their third straight loss in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section playoffs, 5-3, against Division IV opponent Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks on Tuesday afternoon at Oxnard High.

In a surprise twist to free up the Pacifica attack, senior star Kendall Neely played much of the match in the hole set position.

Neely, bound for the swimming program at UC Santa Barbara, scored all three Pacifica goals on five shots. But her teammates were shut out on a combined 14 attempts at goal.

Six of the misses came after Neely pulled the Tritons within 5-3 with 3:11 to play.

"The fates were against us," said Pacifica coach Christina Maggio.

In their final match of their four-year careers, senior goalie Claudia Puebla made eight blocks and senior Sammy Garcia had two assists as Pacifica ended its season 18-10.

"In our last game," said Neely, "we just wanted to give it our all. Of course, it would have been really nice to win."

Neely answered the game's opening goal by Angelica Ayala of Notre Dame within 15 seconds, but strikes by Tiffany Welsh and Angie Nastasi gave the Knights, which defeated Pacifica 15-10 during the Mistletoe Tournament at Thousand Oaks High earlier this season, a 3-1 lead after one quarter.

After Neely pulled Pacifica within 3-2 early in the second quarter, the Tritons went nearly 2 quarters without scoring.

Puebla and her defense made a series of big plays to maintain the one-goal gulf, especially in the third quarter when Puebla made three blocks and foiled a three-on-one with opposing drivers.

The highlight was her point-blank confrontation with Notre Dame's hole set, Kate Kurzeka, that ended with the ball glancing off her crossbar to safety.

"We've been practicing that," said Puebla. "Every block is important, and my girls played so well in front of me."

But Kurzeka bounced back, scoring two goals during a two-minute span that straddled the end of the third quarter to give Notre Dame a 5-2 lead.

Neely sparked a final Pacifica flurry with her final high school goal, beating Notre Dame goalie Maddie Johnson low and to the left with 3:11 to play.

"She comes out of the water looking like a warrior, with scratches all over her body and a smile on her face," said Maggio of Neely.

But ultimately, a win to go alongside last spring's wild-card victory over Cate, the program's lone CIF victory, proved elusive.