Burbank girls’ water polo tops area tournament efforts
BURBANK – A fourth-place effort by the Burbank High girls’ water polo team constituted the best finish from four area squads Saturday on the final afternoon of the three-day-long Burbank High Tournament.
The Bulldogs fell, 15-9, to San Marino in the third-place game to conclude a 2-2 run, while Burroughs also ended 2-2, Hoover finished 1-3 and Flintridge Prep struggled to 0-4.
“This was an overall positive for us,” said Burbank coach Allyson Young, whose team previously lost to San Marino, 6-5, Tuesday in nonleague play. “We got fourth place, we played some good teams and picked up some experience, so I can’t complain.”
The downfall for Burbank (3-3) was turnovers as the team committed 23 with at least five per quarter.
Burbank trailed, 5-4, at halftime and was outscored, 4-1, in the third with six giveaways in the quarter.
San Marino (6-1) took a 7-5 lead after a goal from Sarah Mao off an assist from Annette Aledeffa with 2:56 remaining in the third quarter.
Isa Lee then stole a pass and turned it into an assist on a goal from Aledeffa, who led all players with eight goals, with 1:58 left.
San Marino added to its advantage when a ball-under penalty by Burbank resulted in another turnover and a goal from Aledeffa as the Titans closed out the third quarter with a 9-5 lead.
“We have to get better at communicating,” said Burbank senior attacker Sune Aghakian, who led her squad with six goals. “Obviously we didn’t do a good job of telling players to watch out when a defender is behind you or when to make a pass.”
Burbank cut its deficit to three at three separate points in the fourth quarter, but never pulled any closer.
Despite the 15 goals allowed, junior goalie Suzie Misiryan kept her team competitive with four steals and seven saves, including two on five-meter penalties as the Titans were granted four such opportunities. Misiryan and the Bulldogs’ defense also held San Marino one for five on six-on-five chances.
“It’s kind of scary at first when you have that many five-meter penalties, but I guess you get used to it,” said Misiryan, a first-year varsity player. “On defense we just needed to spread out a bit and push them.”
Burbank began strong Thursday with victories of 9-7 over Louisville and 8-3 over Torrance.
The Bulldogs’ drive to a championship was ended in an 11-3 semifinal loss to Monrovia earlier Saturday.
“We need to communicate a lot better,” said Burbank’s Lexi Lyneis, who finished with two goals against San Marino. “We have to work on swimming, on getting faster. We need to shoot better and just work together as a team.”
Burroughs (2-2) had the opposite experience as its city counterpart as the Indians commenced with two losses Friday to Calabasas (8-7 score) and San Marino (10-9).
The Indians finished last in their pool, but recovered Saturday morning and plastered Pacific League rival Hoover, 15-2, behind four goals from Gwen Turla.
In Burroughs’ finale, the squad capped a 2-0 Saturday with a 10-5 win over Torrance with five more goals from Turla, who finished with 15 goals in four games. Bianca Sanchez added eight goals overall for Burroughs.
As for the Tornadoes (1-3), they opened with three straight defeats.
Hoover lost to league rival Arcadia, 14-2, and to eventual tournament champion Palisades, 11-3, in Thursday’s pool play action.
On Saturday, the Tornadoes bounced back from their loss to Burroughs by picking up a victory over Flintridge Prep, 8-2, thanks to three goals each from Inga Akopyan and Tater Aghasaryan.
The Rebels endured a tough tournament with losses to Alemany, 13-2, and Monrovia, 12-2, on Friday followed by a defeat to Torrance, 8-7, and the final setback against Hoover.
In the Torrance loss, Natalie Kaplanyan led the Rebels (0-4) with three goals, while Danielle Maxwell added two scores.
In the championship match, Palisades defeated Monrovia, 5-4.
Twitter: @campadresports
