Crescenta Valley High girls’ water polo readies for postseason with impressive win
LA CRESCENTA — Crescenta Valley High’s girls’ water polo team took an opportunity to play a top-flight opponent before the upcoming Pacific League Tournament by welcoming visiting La Serna to its pool Thursday afternoon in a nonleague contest featuring two teams both ranked in the top 10 of their respective divisions.
“This game was in place just for the purpose of getting us ready for CIF,” first-year Crescenta Valley Coach Ricky Mulcahey said. “We knew [La Serna] was going to be tough competition and all our opponents in CIF will be tough competition.”
Crescenta Valley went scoreless in the opening period but then got things going to cruise to a 11-5 victory.
PHOTOS: Dollaku, Taylor score four apiece to leade Falcons to 11-5 win over La Serna
The Falcons (21-2), who finished undefeated in Pacific League regular season play with a 17-4 victory over Burroughs on Wednesday, received four goals apiece from juniors Audrey Taylor and Esma Dollaku to guide the way over the visiting Lancers (12-14).
In the first quarter, Crescenta Valley, ranked No. 7 in CIF Southern Section Division IV, hit the crossbar on its first two shots and a total of four times in the frame. The only goal of the first came from Lancer Madison Flareau on a long shot with 1:23 left to give La Serna, ranked No. 10 in CIF-Southern Section Division III, a 1-0 advantage going into the second quarter.
“We just knew we had to put those balls away and really step it up,” said Taylor, who hit the crossbar three times in the first. “We were better than what we were doing in the first half and we knew that.”
Crescenta Valley seized control by scoring the next seven goals of the game spanning the second and third quarters.
“Our girls were a little nervous [at the start] and they were over thinking it and just overpowering their shots,” Mulcahey said. “The shots were open. They were just throwing it too hard, so I told them to soften up their shots and hit for the corners.”
Dollaku tied the contest with 5:29 to go in the second quarter with an assist from Ani Aghakhanian. The Falcons, whose defense held La Serna scoreless in the period, then took the lead for good when Taylor unleashed a shot that glanced off the Lancers goalie’s arm and in. The Falcons went into intermission clinging to a 2-1 advantage.
“We really broke out with a run in the third quarter, so that’s what really helped us, getting that momentum,” Mulcahey said.
The third quarter saw the home team pour in five goals in the first 4:47 of the period to surge to a 7-1 cushion. Twenty-one seconds in, Dollaku found Taylor behind the defense for a point-blank finish. La Serna then hit the post twice before Dollaku got a goal off a pass from Aghakhanian. Twenty seconds later, Taylor streaked down the left side and finished for her third goal. Twenty-nine seconds after that, Dollaku got her third goal, turning over her shoulder and finishing with power. The final goal of the run came from Falcons freshman Kaitlyn Moguel with 3:13 to go.
“We come out with a full press automatically and we adjust to what they are giving us,” Dollaku said of her team’s defense. “I think our strongest asset is that we work together really well and when we need a stop and to score seven goals we can.”
La Serna scored the final two goals of the third quarter with the second coming from Flareau, who would also score in the fourth for a team-high three goals.
Both Taylor and Dollaku scored their fourth goals in the final period.
Junior Brynn Fernandez recorded both of her two goals for Crescenta Valley in the fourth quarter.
“If we start [the playoffs] like we did the third quarter [against La Serna] we’ll be fine,” Dollaku said.