Crescenta Valley boys’ water polo builds momentum after 21-5 win over Arcadia
BURBANK — About the only thing the Crescenta Valley High boys’ water polo team didn’t do Tuesday evening in the semifinals of the Pacific League Tournament was win the fourth quarter.
Then again, there wasn’t a need to do so.
The league top-seeded Falcons scored the first 12 goals of Tuesday’s action versus archrival Arcadia and rolled to a 21-5 victory at Burbank High to advance to the Thursday’s championship match at 5:30 p.m.
That’s where the CIF Southern Section Division IV No. 2-ranked Falcons (22-6 overall, 7-0 in league), who have already clinched a share of their second straight league title, will face No. 3-ranked Hoover (20-5, 6-1) for third time this season.
The league second-seeded Tornadoes defeated the Falcons, 10-5, in nonleague tournament play before the Falcons avenged that setback via an 11-9 overtime win in the league opener at Hoover on Oct. 6.
Hoover defeated Burroughs, 15-8, on Tuesday to advance to Thursday’s final.
“You’d love to go into that game with momentum, but ultimately we’re going to prepare for Thursday like we prepared for today,” Crescenta Valley Coach Jan Sakonju said. “We expect a real fun, competitive game. It’s been a great season so far and I imagine it will be a great game.”
Before the Falcons could punch their ticket to the league title game, they had to dispatch of the fourth-seeded Apaches.
That didn’t take long.
Crescenta Valley forced nine turnovers in the first quarter, outshot Arcadia, 12-3, and led, 8-0, after the first quarter thanks in part to three goals from Jesse Sullivan, who also tallied one of his four steals in the quarter.
“For a game like this against a smaller opponent, we’re just trying to run our offense and get used to the size of the [Olympic-sized] pool,” Sullivan said. “It’s also a matter of getting used to playing with each other and getting ready for a tough game.”
Falcons senior Vasil Halchev led all scorers with six goals, three of which came in the second quarter as Crescenta Valley stormed to a 15-2 advantage into the half.
Junior Reagan Hesse capped the Falcons’ early scoring binge with a goal off an assist from Cameron Kober with 5:01 left in the second quarter to give the Falcons a 12-0 lead.
Arcadia eventually broke through with its first goal with a shot from Aramis Kelkelyan off goalie Logan Goddard’s palms with 4:40 remaining in the second quarter to make the score, 12-1.
Even though Sakonju liberally rotated in his massive bench throughout the contest, the Falcons still controlled the game, winning the third quarter, 5-1, en route to a 20-3 lead.
Arcadia received two goals from Kelvin Lui in the fourth quarter to win the period, 2-1, and conclude the score at 21-5.
Goddard finished with eight saves for Crescenta Valley.
Even as the contest had just finished, thoughts gravitated from celebration to preparation.
“It’s all about Thursday,” said Hesse, who finished with four goals and two steals. “Today was about setting up the offense and working our plays.
“It’s going to be a really good game, a good rivalry and a loud crowd. We’ve got to work hard on defense and stick to our game plan to win.”