Burroughs girls’ water polo has dominant effort against Burbank

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Burroughs High School girls water polo player #16 Aleah Orozco takes a shot on goal in home game vs. Burbank High School, in Burbank on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017. Burroughs won the game 13-3. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Burbank High School girls water polo player #13 Cynthia Abramian gets a shot off under pressure from #4 Allison Schamber in away game vs. Burroughs High School, in Burbank on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017. Burroughs won the game 13-3. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Burroughs High School girls water polo player #16 Aleah Orozco drives to the goal in home game vs. Burbank High School, in Burbank on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017. Burroughs won the game 13-3. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Burbank High School girls water polo player #10 Michelle Marlock scores a goal in away game vs. Burroughs High School, in Burbank on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017. Burroughs won the game 13-3. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Burroughs High School girls water polo player #7 Bianca Sanchez gets a shot under pressure from #5 Patil Minassian in home game vs. Burbank High School, in Burbank on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017. Burroughs won the game 13-3. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Burbank High School girls water polo player #5 Patil Minassian looks to pass under pressure from #10 Elizabeth Wrobel in away game vs. Burroughs High School, in Burbank on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017. Burroughs won the game 13-3. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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By Jeff Tully

Jan. 12, 2017 6:12 PM PT

Burbank

Getting the best of its cross-town rival was not the primary motivation for the Burroughs High girls’ water polo team when it took on Burbank on Thursday afternoon.

Instead, the Indians were fueled by a loss two days earlier against Arcadia in their Pacific League opener.

“They felt that they should have beaten Arcadia and that’s what drove them today,” Burroughs Coach Jacob Cook said of his team.

Burroughs looked motivated in the early going against the Bulldogs. The Indians scored four straight goals and shut out Burbank in the first and third quarters for a 13-3 victory at home.

The Indians (6-6, 1-1) lost to the Apaches on Tuesday on the road, 8-5.

“We played Arcadia the other day and we lost and that really took something away for us,” said Burroughs junior Bianca Sanchez, who paced her team with three goals. “We wanted to come into this game and make up for that loss. So that’s why we came out and played so well in the beginning.

“Mentally, we set our minds to calm down with it being the rivalry and all. We just wanted to look at it as a game and not a rivalry.”

Lizzy Wrobel, Allison Schamber, Aleah Orozco and Gwen Turla scored two goals each for Burroughs, while Cameron Flores and Dominique Silva added a goal apiece.

Burbank (3-10, 1-1) came into Thursday’s contest with high expectations after routing Hoover in its league opener Tuesday, 14-2. But Burroughs’ stingy defense and a rough start made things tough for the Bulldogs.

“After winning against Hoover by so much and we improved so much in just that game, we did have high expectations because they have been playing well,” Burbank Coach Allyson Young said. “It’s not that they didn’t play well in this game, it was that Burroughs ended up playing better.

“Tough defense by Burroughs was a factor. But us just not doing some simple things was also a factor as well. … But this team has improved so much and we can see that, even today. They are a completely different team then when we first started.”

Sanchez began things for the Indians in grand style, scoring a natural hat trick and staking the Indians to a 3-0 lead with 1:07 remaining in the first quarter. Orozco tallied the final goal of the stanza with 16 seconds left and Burroughs went into the first break with a 4-0 cushion.

The Indians outshot the Bulldogs, 12-4, in the opening quarter.

Burroughs kept up the pressure in the second quarter and, when Turla found the back of the cage with 2:53 remaining, the Indians’ advantage had swelled to 8-0. Burbank finally broke the shutout with a goal by sophomore Michelle Morlock with 20 seconds left.

The Indians went into halftime leading, 8-1.

Burbank was shut out in the third quarter, 2-0, and the Indians enjoyed a comfortable 10-1 lead after three.

“It was a great all-around effort for the girls,’ said Cook, who cleared his bench in the second half. “Honestly, that was the best game they’ve played all season. They really came out hard and they got after it early.

“It was nice for our seniors, because in the last quarter, all of our seven seniors were playing. And we really didn’t have a drop-off when we went to our subs. Literally, every single girl did her job today.”

Senior Cynthia Anramian led Burbank with two goals.