Crescenta Valley girls’ water polo extends league dynasty
ARCADIA — Even without its top player, the Crescenta Valley High girls’ water polo team hasn’t missed a beat.
With two-time reigning All-Area Girls’ Water Polo Player of the Year Alex Garas sidelined with an undisclosed injury, Crescenta Valley turned to its depth to extend its dynastic league reign.
Kaitlyn Moguel finished with five goals and eight others scored at least one goal to propel top-seeded Crescenta Valley to a convincing 19-7 win against fourth-seeded Arcadia on Tuesday in a league tournament semifinal match at Arcadia High.
Crescenta Valley (22-4, 7-0 in league) gained a share of its ninth straight league crown and can win it outright with a victory against second-seeded Burroughs (10-4, 6-1) in the tournament’s championship match at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Arcadia.
“It’s tough not having Alex here because she can do so many things well,” said Moguel, who scored three first-quarter goals. “We’ve been working hard at practice and we have a lot of people who can step up and contribute. That’s what happened today.
“There are a lot of people who have great vision and awareness around the pool and it really helps a lot. To win league again is an honor and we want to hold the program’s tradition in league.”
Crescenta Valley, ranked 10th in CIF Southern Section Division III, led the entire match against Arcadia (12-12, 3-4). The Falcons recorded a 22-12 win against the Apaches on Jan. 16.
On Tuesday, Crescenta Valley jumped out to a 6-1 lead after the first quarter. Moguel’s third goal made it 6-1 as time expired.
“We came out strong to start the game,” Moguel said. “We got some goals off of counter-attacks and we went from there.”
Crescenta Valley held a 12-2 lead at halftime, getting the final goal of the second quarter from Emma Benitez with 28 seconds remaining.
“Alex is our captain, leader and go-to person,” Falcons coach Ricky Mulcahey said. “I liked the way we were able to respond. In my eyes, everybody had a chance to contribute and that’s where the depth comes into play.
“We’re able to give certain players and others step it up. It means a great deal to win league again and we still want to take care of business on Thursday. We talk a lot to the players about wanting to extend the run in league and they understand it. You want to win the league championship and then hopefully win CIF.”
Crescenta Valley got three goals from Benitez, two each from Roxie Jackson-Gain, Porsche Double, Sydney Reil and Lexie Kawachi and one apiece from Sydney Hunsacker, Kate Ward and Hanna Ziccardi.
Arcadia, which will meet third-seeded Glendale (12-11, 3-4) in the third-place match at 4:30 Thursday, got a team-high two goals from Susan Harrison.
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
