Burroughs girls’ water polo adds revenge to hot streak
BURBANK – After a bumpy start to the season, the Burroughs High girls’ water polo team is not only rounding into form, it’s grabbing some revenge.
The host Indians picked up their fifth straight victory Thursday afternoon with a little redemption on the side in an 11-8 nonleague victory over third-ranked San Marino in a battle of CIF Southern Section Division VI squads.
Thursday’s victory came a little less than two weeks after Burroughs (5-2) opened the season with back-to-back losses at the Burbank Tournament on Dec. 1. The second of those setbacks was a 10-9 defeat to the Titans (8-2), who finished runner-up in the tournament.
“The last time we played San Marino, the girls were semi-asleep to start the game and I kind of felt a little like it was the same thing today,” Burroughs coach Jacob Cook said. “Then in about the third quarter they started to get it going and start to play the type of style they’ve been playing lately.
“I think the team is coming together nicely and everyone is getting the chemistry down.”
Gwen Turla and Bianca Sanchez led the Indians with four goals apiece and played a pivotal role down the stretch.
In a game of runs, the Indians put together the largest and latest with a 4-0 spurt that consisted of the contest’s final four goals.
A goal from Camila Panoza with 4:54 left knotted the score at 8. Sanchez netted her final tally and the game-winner on the second of consecutive six-on-five chances with 2:47 remaining that propelled Burroughs ahead, 9-8.
Turla capped her team’s offensive exploits with two goals, the first off an assist from Aleah Orozco with 2:14 left that gave the home team a two-goal advantage.
Turla scored the second of two longest-distance goals when she laced a 12-yard shot with 1:39 remaining to give Burroughs the largest lead of the contest, 11-8.
“It was a really good experience,” Turla said of playing San Marino in the Burbank Tournament. “It’s very refreshing knowing that we were able to beat them after we did lose to them. It will pump us up for the rest of preseason and the oncoming season.”
Turla gave her team a boast when she converted a mid-pool heave for a goal with a second remaining in the first half to put the Indians ahead, 5-4, into the break just after San Marino knotted the game four seconds earlier.
After San Marino pulled even on a goal from Annette Aledeffa midway through the third quarter, Burroughs countered with scores from Orozco and Sanchez to go up, 7-5, at 1:52 in the frame.
Marika Brunochelli added a goal with just over a minute left for San Marino, which had a game-tying attempt from Aledeffa denied on a one-on-one stuff from Burroughs sophomore goalie Emma Nathan with 12 seconds left.
“[Aledeffa] just kept getting open,” said Nathan, who finished with eight saves after splitting time with Isabella Erickson (five saves). “I was yelling ‘get back’ to the defense and then knew I had to make a play.”
San Marino tied the match on a goal from Brunochelli with 6:15 remaining and took its final lead, 8-7, on a score from Aledeffa with 5:44 left, which capped a 3-0 run.
Isa Lee led San Marino with four goals.
Twitter: @campadresports
