Royal Plays in League of Its Own

In search of tougher competition, the Royal High water polo team went outside of its league for a match against Crescenta Valley.

The Highlanders proceeded to prove that the Falcons were, well, a little bit out of their league.

Chris Richeson, a 6-3, 200-pound senior driver, scored six goals, including three in the first quarter, to lead Royal to an 11-6 victory over the Falcons in a nonleague match Thursday at Crescenta Valley High.

Royal (19-5), the defending Southern Section Division IV champion, is ranked second in the division. The Highlanders, who have won eight in a row, were coming off a 25-1 rout of Westlake in a Marmonte League match Wednesday.

Although the Highlanders took an early lead Thursday, did not trail and stepped up their play in the fourth quarter to take command against the Falcons, the game was much closer than that.

Both teams were thankful for that, despite the loss for Crescenta Valley, the sixth-ranked team in Division III.

“I was definitely looking forward to a nonleague match,” Richeson said. “It was a quality match, and I thought we played really well. This is the first time in a while that I’ve played the whole game.

“Usually in league matches, I don’t get to play past like, the second quarter.”

Richeson’s presence in the third and fourth quarters helped the Highlanders retain control.

Crescenta Valley pulled to within 5-4 with five minutes to go in the third quarter. But Richeson recorded two quick goals, on a back-handed score from two meters and a fast-break goal after he sprinted past the Falcon defense, to give Royal a 7-4 advantage.

Nate Ball’s shot from outside in a man-up situation in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter made the score 8-4 before Crescenta Valley mounted a brief rally.

The Falcons’ Tony Kuleto and David Kim scored to make it 8-6 with about 2 1/2 minutes to play, but the Highlanders responded with goals by Joe Andelin, Jason Perry and Richeson.

“I felt this helps us to know where we are with the playoffs coming up soon,” Richeson said. “It was good to have a match like this.”

The Falcons felt the same way, despite the loss.

“We really did the best we could do against them,” said Kuleto, who scored three times. “It was a really good match for us. They’re just really big and strong, and just a really good team.”

Royal, which outshot Crescenta Valley, 22-13 overall and 13-6 in the first half, held a 5-2 advantage at intermission.

The early lead was thanks largely to Richeson, who took the Highlanders’ first five shots and made three.

Richeson’s efforts came while Royal 2-meter man David Radka was getting hammered inside. But Crescenta Valley had its own problems at the spot, thanks to the defense of Ball.

The Falcons did not score from the 2-meter position and were forced to settle for shots from the wings or far outside.

“This was a quality game,” Royal Coach Steve Snyder said. “So many games, we’ve gone to sleep at the end. We wanted to press, we wanted to come out strong in the second half and we did that.”

The Highlanders did it at the Falcons’ expense.

“They are a very talented team,” Crescenta Valley Coach Pete Loporchio said.

“We closed the gap a little, but then they stepped up, and you kind of felt that.”

Neil Reynolds, Justin Payne and David Kim each scored once for Crescenta Valley.

“No matter who won or lost, it was a good game,” Snyder said.