Sports Notebook: Crescenta Valley High girls’ soccer has handful of all-league picks

The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene.

FALCONS HAVE THREE FIRST-TEAMERS

In the wake of a second-place run in the Pacific League, Crescenta Valley High had three first-team all-league selections in Grace Keller, Sabrina Sessarego and Natalia Victoria and six overall picks, while Hoover had three honorees, led by first-teamer Jordan Miller, and Glendale had two.

Keller, a four-year standout for the Falcons, who went 12-9-1, 11-3 in league, had a team-high 12 goals along with four assists. She also shined when she was put on the back line.

“Grace equals grit. She is a no-nonsense kind of player,” Falcons Coach Tyraysha Peterson said. “We played her everywhere this year, trying to utilize her strengths when we needed them depending on which team we played. Her versatility is fantastic and she always plays hard. She has been such a tremendous asset to our program for four years.”

Sessarego, a senior midfielder, posted five goals and a team-high seven assists.

“She seemed to improve every single time she took the field, impressing us every game,” Peterson said. “She plays with her whole heart every time she steps on the field. She has an undeniable passion for playing and one of the highest tolerances for pain I’ve seen on our team. Battles through any injury and empties the tank each and every time she plays. Sabrina held down the midfield for us and played a critical leadership role.”

A junior defender, Victoria was a valuable asset in the Falcons producing nine shutouts.

“She adapts quickly to change in play and really makes center back look like a flawless and easy position,” Peterson said. “Natalia is systematically aggressive at the perfect moments, she distributes great balls, she wins headers and starts our attack from the back.

“Natalia was an integral part of our team this year.”

For Hoover (7-15-2, 4-8-2 in league for fifth place), Miller, a senior, was a phenomenal asset who played all over the field. She had four goals and three assists, according to maxpreps.com.

Notching second-team recognition for Crescenta Valley were junior defender Lauren Cota (two goals) and senior defender Courtney Ianello (one goal), Hoover sophomore Remi Miller (15 goals and three assists) and Crystal Rivera of Glendale (3-12-3, 3-8-3 in league for sixth place).

Honorable mention went to Crescenta Valley’s Sierra Lindman Marshall (two goals), Glendale’s Heather Aquino and Hoover’s Seran Krikorian.

Kelly Dopke of Arcadia, which won the league title, was the league’s player of the year.

PREP GIRLS’ SOCCER BRINGS IN LEAGUE HAUL

Having grabbed third place in the Prep League and an automatic entry into the CIF-SS postseason, Flintridge Prep’s girls’ soccer team left its mark despite its youth.

On a team without a single senior, the Rebels garnered six All-Prep League selections.

Freshmen Mona Cesario and Julia Gonzalez-Quijano and junior Katherine Pinney were first-team picks, while sophomore Dima Bazzi, junior Lauren Stiles and freshman Lindsey Uteda were second-team honorees.

Gonzalez, a forward, shared the team lead of 14 goals with Pinney, a midfielder, while the latter added a team-high seven assists.

Cesario was also a midfielder, tallying six goals and two assists.

Goalies Stiles and Uteda split time between the pipes. Stiles had a 1.16 goals-against average with an 85% save percentage and 82 saves. Uteda had 67 saves at a 74% clip with a 2.01 GAA.

Bazzi, a defensive midfielder, had a goal and an assist.

Madeline Pena of Mayfield was the league’s offensive most valuable player and Carolyn Shanks of Pasadena Poly was the league’s defensive most valuable player.

TOLOGS NET LEAGUE HONORS

Following a historic season that saw the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy water polo team advance to the CIF Southern Section playoffs for the first time, four Tologs were bestowed with All-Mission League accolades.

Maddy Dulcich, Electra Williams, Emily Gray and Allison Pieroni received postseason honors after the Tologs went 15-16, 6-7 in league for fourth place.

Dulcich, a junior utility, earned a spot on the first team. She finished with a team-leading 61 goals and contributed 33 steals.

“She was the backbone of our team,” said Flintridge Sacred Heart Coach Carlos Ponce, whose team reached the first round of the Division III playoffs and fell to top-seeded Arroyo Grande, the eventual champion. “She’s got great all-around skills and took on the leadership role.”

Williams and Gray were selected to the second team.

Williams, a junior hole/guard, finished with 47 goals and 41 steals. Gray, a sophomore driver, had 15 goals and 55 steals.

Pieroni, a junior driver, collected 14 goals en route to receiving honorable mention.

PYROS, GUTIERREZ PICK UP ACCOLADES

A pair of Glendale Community College women’s basketball players were bestowed with All-Western State Conference South Division honors following a season in which the Vaqueros went 12-16, 6-6 in the division.

Leading the way for the Vaqueros were sophomore forward Samantha Pyros and freshman guard Natalie Gutierrez.

Pyros averaged 12.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest to pick up all-conference first-team accolades.

“She always came up huge for us in scoring and rebounding,” Glendale Coach Carrie Miller said. “She could rebound on both ends of the court and you could count on her to come out ready to play.”

Gutierrez received honorable mention after averaging 17.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.