Crescenta Valley’s girls’ water polo’s Garas, Moguel share top league accolade

Once again, the Crescenta Valley High girls’ water polo team dominated the Pacific League.

The Falcons won their eighth straight league championship despite having to build in some areas around the lineup.

One area that didn’t need shoring up was at driver. That’s where Alex Garas and Kaitlyn Moguel flourished in extending Crescenta Valley’s league pedigree and helping the Falcons qualify for the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs.

Garas and Moguel teamed up to provide an electrifying tandem and were named the league’s co-players of the year, as voted on by the league’s seven coaches.

Garas, a sophomore, had another outstanding season, finishing with 121 goals, 85 steals and 59 assists. Moguel, a junior, collected 65 goals, 69 assists and 58 steals.

“They are our go-to players and we looked up to them in so many ways,” said Crescenta Valley Coach Ricky Mulcahey, whose team finished 23-6, 8-0 in league. “It was going to be kind of a building year for us, so we expected a lot out of Alex and Kaitlyn and they performed so well yet again.

“It’s great to see them be honored like that. Alex brought a lot of energy and she could score and draw ejections. Kaitlyn understood the team’s needs by being able to score and properly defend.”

Garas found lots of ways to thrive while boasting an accurate shot.

“I tried to improve in a lot of areas,” said Garas, who had 127 goals last season. “I improved as a leader and that’s because I wanted to step up my overall game.

“It’s exciting to share it with Kaitlyn. We’re always talking about ways to get better and we give feedback to each other.”

Moguel said playing alongside Garas has been a boon.

“We’ve played together a few years, going back to club,” Moguel said. “We help each other play at a higher level and she’s such an amazing player.

“I went out there and put in the time and hard work. All of my teammates helped put me in position to contribute.”

Garas and Moguel were among 11 local athletes to receive all-league accolades. Four players were selected to the first team, two to the second team and three picked up honorable mention.

Receiving first-team nods were Allison Smith, Samantha Menke and Hanna Ziccardi of Crescenta Valley and Glendale’s Mondana Nassirpour.

Smith, a junior goalkeeper, finished with 232 saves.

“I give a lot of credit to Allison,” Mulcahey said. “It was her first year playing varsity and she’s got a tremendous work ethic. She was on the junior varsity team last year and she’d come to the varsity practices to learn more about the game.”

Menke, a sophomore, gave the Falcons yet another option at driver. She finished with 25 goals, 22 steals and 21 assists.

“She’s like the sprinter of the team,” Mulcahey said. “She seemed to give our team at least one extra possession each quarter.”

Ziccardi, a freshman driver, registered 28 goals, 28 assists and 20 steals.

“As a first-year player, she brought a lot of energy to the team and will be a key player in the future,” Mulcahey said.

Nassirpour, a junior driver, finished with 55 goals, 29 steals and 23 assists.

Glendale went 7-9, 3-5 in league for fourth place and qualified for the Division VI playoffs.

“She worked hard throughout the season and scored some big goals,” Glendale Coach Casey Sripramong said. “She stepped up to become a leader.”

Crescenta Valley’s Lexie Kawachi and Sona Aghasaryan of Hoover (2-10, 1-6 for seventh) were named to the second team.

Kawachi, a freshman driver, had 22 goals, 28 assists and 17 steals. Aghasaryan, a senior utility, collected 23 goals, 27 assists and 39 saves.

Crescenta Valley’s Roxy Jackson-Gain, Anna Ter-Mkrtchyan of Glendale and Hoover’s Teni Moradian received honorable mention.

Jackson-Gain notched 11 goals, 11 assists and 11 steals. Ter-Mkrtchyan, a junior driver, finished with 38 goals, 34 steals and 22 assists. Moradian, a senior driver, collected 20 goals and 21 assists.