Hoover water polo cruises past cross-town rival Glendale
GLENDALE — Behind a combination of experience and depth, the Hoover High boys’ water polo team has stormed to the upper echelon of the Pacific League and CIF Southern Section Division IV.
The Tornadoes have also been able to flourish on both sides of the ball, leading to counter-attacks and quality scoring opportunities.
Hoover received five goals from Harout Ashkharian and three from Levon Gukasyan to record a 17-9 league home victory against cross-town rival Glendale on Tuesday.
“We have a lot of games under our belts now, so it’s led to them being opportunistic and taking advantage of different situations,” said Hoover Coach Kevin Witt, whose team improved to 20-6, 5-1 in league. “We have 10 seniors, which is unheard of these days, and they know how to lead the team.”
Hoover, ranked third in the division behind Righetti and league-rival Crescenta Valley, also got two goals apiece from Levon Tarverdov, David Ashkharian and Levon Haik Gukasyan to best Glendale (2-11, 2-4). The Tornadoes, who will likely be the second seed in the league tournament beginning Tuesday at Burbank High, got one goal each from Aren Sukiasyan, Robert Akopyan and Ara Sukiasyan.
After Glendale, which split the league championship last season with Crescenta Valley, took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Vachik Gharibyan with 4:19 left in the first quarter, Hoover responded with six goals in a row in less than three minutes. Harout Ashkharian had two goals in that stretch, with his second goal giving Hoover a 4-1 advantage with 2:43 to go.
“Everybody came out prepared and we wanted to get off to a quick start,” Ashkharian said. “It’s a game we take very seriously, so we were able to go out and push our offense all the way.
“I think our confidence level has been high throughout the whole year. We’ve been practicing well and we are able to connect with each other.”
Glendale’s Jayson Wilia (team-high five goals) cut Hoover’s lead to 6-3 with 6:44 left in the second quarter. Hoover then closed out the first half with six straight goals to pad the lead to 12-3.
“I’ve seen improvement with Harout’s play since he was a freshmen,” Witt said. “He came in a solid defender and then he developed offensively last year. He’s been very valuable to the team this year.”
Wilia, who helped Glendale win the Division V championship in 2013, added four second-half goals.
“They have a very good team, but we need to be more aware and get more of our people involved,” first-year Glendale Coach Narek Vardanian said. “There’s a lot of pressure playing your rival and that’s one of the best teams we’ve played.
“We were able to get more people involved in the fourth quarter. That’s something we can take from here.”
Gharibyan had three goals for the Nitros, who got one from Hamlet Pachaian.
