Crescenta Valley boys’ soccer tops Hoover to keep playoff hopes alive
LA CRESCENTA — With its playoff hopes flickering and just four Pacific League matches remaining, Crescenta Valley High’s boys’ soccer team needed a jolt and Henry Barkhordarian looked to provide it
Barkhordarian, a junior forward, recorded a hat trick and one assist in the second half to lead host Crescenta Valley to a 4-1 league win against Hoover on Wednesday.
Crescenta Valley extended its unbeaten streak to six and is 7-8-6, 4-5-2 in league for 14 points and sixth place in league. Hoover is tied for fourth with Burbank after dropping to 9-7-3, 5-5-1 for 16 points. The top four teams from the league automatically qualify for the playoffs.
Crescenta Valley and Hoover played a scoreless first half before Barkhordarian went to work. he scored a pair of goals about 40 seconds apart to give the Falcons a 2-0 advantage.
“We have to win our games to have a shot at making the playoffs,” Barkhordarian said. “It’s a huge win and we know what we need to do.
“Hoover is right above us and we have to catch them in order to make the playoffs. I think everybody had a great game for our team and we just want to keep heading in the right direction. We’ve definitely improved during the second half of league.”
The Falcons are 4-0-2 in their last six matches, all in league. They split the season series with the Tornadoes, who picked up a 2-1 win against Crescenta Valley on Jan. 13.
Barkhordarian gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead when he took a pass from Joshua Moran and beat Hoover goalkeeper Anthony Flores with a low shot inside the right post in the 47th minute.
He then tallied an unassisted goal to make it 2-0.
“He’s one of our go-to guys because he can do so many things well,” Crescenta Valley Coach Grant Clark said. “He stepped up his game at a time when we needed him to. It’s a 0-0 game and we need to get the points to make a move in the standings.
“He can find a lot of ways to score and he showed that today.”
Hoover cut the deficit in half at 2-1 when Benik Housepian headed in a corner kick by Romio Sislian in the 59th minute. The Tornadoes seized the momentum and appeared on the verge of tying the match in the 66th minute. Jesus Rodriguez of Hoover had a partial breakaway and lined a shot that Crescenta Valley goalkeeper Vache Sarkissian stopped after reaching back with his right hand.
About a minute later, Barkhordarian completed his hat trick to extend the lead to 3-1.
“It’s a tough situation in such a close game,” said Sarkissian, who finished with five saves. “I saw the shot and concentrated on the ball and made the stop. Then we go down and score. That proved to be huge.”
Hoover Coach Anastasios Metallinos said Sarkissian’s save proved to be the turning point.
“We score there, it’s 2-2 and we’re the ones in good position,” Metallinos said. “He made the big save and then they go right down and score and that pretty much did it.
“Whether we lost 4-1 or 2-1, it’s a loss. We need to pick up points. We had a bad game and now we can’t dwell on it at all. We have a goal in front of us and that’s to make the playoffs.”
Kyle Quesada closed out the scoring in the 68th minute.
