BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Julia Zebak was scheduled to have surgery Thursday to repair a fully torn labrum in her right shoulder.

The procedure now is on hold.

On Sunday, Zebak — LIU's senior starting goalie — stopped a pair of penalty shots, the latter in overtime, in what became a 13-12 win against Wagner in the MAAC Women's Water Polo Championship game.

The Sharks snapped Wagner's 100-game winning streak against conference opponents and punched a ticket to the program's first-ever NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship.

LIU opens the NCAAs next Wednesday against Biola in Stockton, Calif., with the winner advancing to face top-seeded Stanford two days later.

"I called the surgeon Monday morning and said, 'I'm so sorry. I'm going to California for the NCAAs,'" Zebak said. "They were thrilled."

Had Zebak not been so determined to compete during her senior season — with a group of eight senior teammates who also helped launch the LIU program in 2020 — she would have undergone the surgery early this academic year and redshirted.

Zebak battled through the shoulder injury last season, but figured the issue was caused by overuse and would rebound with summer rest. The injury instead worsened once she resumed water polo this past fall. An MRI revealed a full tear.

"OK, what do we do from here?" Zebak asked the doctor.

"We find you a surgeon and we book surgery," the doctor said.

"I want to play," Zebak replied.

"You have a fully torn shoulder," the doctor told her.

"I know, so what can I do to play?" Zebak asked.

Said Zebak: "I wasn't giving up on my senior year after starting the program."

That determination, and work with LIU's athletic trainers and physical therapists, led to Zebak wearing a Sully stabilizing brace on her right shoulder throughout the season.

There was a learning curve.

The Sharks lost one early season game by a goal. That game, Zebak's right arm became immobile when the brace popped open in the pool, and she surrendered a goal.

Now, the brace is taped in place "like a corset."

Zebak offered no hint of limitations against Wagner in Sunday's championship game at Marist's McCann Natatorium in Poughkeepsie.

She stopped a pair of 5-meter penalty shots — the latter while leading 12-11 in overtime.

Zebak estimated the penalty shot success rate in water polo is akin to PKs in soccer — maybe in the 80- to 90-percent range. Yet she also had stopped a pair of 5-meter shots against Wagner during the regular season. In fact, in preparation for the finals matchup, she studied video of the opponent who took both 5-meter shots against her during the regular-season meeting against Wagner.

"I was ready for her. … And then they had two completely different people take them in the finals," Zebak said with a laugh. "I was like, 'Dang it, what do I do?' But I have this philosophy that no shot is unblockable.

"I look to either side and then I focus on the ball. I try to read direction and put everything I can into going that direction. I thought I would get a light touch or something, but the [overtime] save was phenomenal. Just seeing the whole bench get up and scream after the second one, it will be one of my career highlights for my whole life."

Said teammate Paola Dominguez-Castro: "All that was going through my head was, 'Julia, please. Julia, please. You have to do this right now.' When she blocked the shot, I started tearing up in the water when there were still minutes left in the game. I know an injury can mentally drain you. But she has pushed through every second."

Zebak has plenty of water polo ahead of her, after recovering from the inevitable surgery to repair the right shoulder.

An Edmonton, Alberta, native, she has been an alternate for the Canadian youth junior and now senior national teams. The 2024 Olympics may not be in the cards with none of the Canadian Olympic goalies from the Tokyo Games having retired. But the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles are firmly in her sights.

After graduating this upcoming May 18 with a biochemistry degree and mathematics minor, Zebak plans to enroll in a medical school with a water polo program and continue her collegiate career if everything works out. She intends to ultimately practice pediatric neurology or pediatric neurosurgery. If medical school gets delayed, she may also pursue playing professionally in Germany.

This much is clear: She has zero intention of abandoning water polo. And who could doubt her given her resolve in the face of the shoulder injury?

"Nothing is going to keep me from playing," she said. "I think this injury has proven that nothing will stop my commitment and drive to play. I love it. I can't picture my life without this sport."

During last weekend's MAAC tourney, Zebak found herself reflecting on her first time in Marist's pool, during her freshman season in 2020. The Sharks played the entire last quarter down a man because they were short players due to injuries and were still building the program's numbers. Zebak, a goalie, was playing in the field.

She labeled the program's rapid ascent "absolutely exhilarating."

Said Zebak about Sunday's win: "As we went into overtime, I was just trying to stay calm. I was trying to stay completely focused on the game. Everyone on the bench was getting so excited. The coaches and everyone had so much energy. I kept saying, 'No, no, no. You've got to stay calm until this is over.'

"The championship didn't actually hit me until after the awards. We got in the vans after and I almost started crying, like, 'Oh my gosh, we're going to NCAAs.'"