Burbank boys’ water polo mauls West Covina
BURBANK — For the second straight game, the Burbank High boys’ water polo team took on the role of bully.
Behind a smothering defense, the Bulldogs kept visiting West Covina shut out for more than two quarters and scored at will in a 22-4 nonleague home victory Thursday afternoon.
With the triumph, Burbank improved to 3-1 with its second big victory after coach Allyson Young’s squad routed Alhambra, 32-4, on Sept. 5.
“I like these types of games because it gives me a chance to let everyone play,” Young said. “You want to see all your players out there in game situations and see who plays well together and it’s definitely nice to play without a lot of pressure.”
Offensively, Burbank also put on a clinic.
The home side took a 9-2 advantage after one quarter, led 15-2 at halftime and 19-2 after three periods.
Burbank senior driver Brandon Wilson led all scorers with eight goals, five steals and three assists. JC Angel added three goals for Burbank, while Arthur Kadzhikyan chipped in two goals.
All the pressure was on West Covina (0-2), which received a goal from Joshua Kuik with 39 seconds left in the first quarter that brought the visiting squad, also the Bulldogs, within 9-2.
From that moment on, Burbank’s defense was nearly flawless.
Burbank held West Covina scoreless in the second and third quarters and finally had its 16 minute-54-second shutout streak snapped by a goal from West Covina’s Nathaniel LaPlante at the four-minute mark in the fourth quarter. By that time, however, West Covina trailed, 20-3.
“In our practices, we’ve really been working on our defense,” said Burbank junior Varuzhan Bilbulyan, who tallied five goals and three assists. “It’s really become a priority for us. Last season, it was more trying to find the open guy and this year, we’re more about defense and shutting players down.”
Though Burbank didn’t dominate the shot differential, winning 26-22, it held West Covina out of the perimeter as the visitors only attempted eight total shots on goal.
For good measure, Burbank also held West Covina 0 for five on six-on-five chances. The home squad also recorded 21 steals, while West Covina committed 25 turnovers.
“It feels good to get these wins,” said Burbank junior two-meter defender Artush Gasparyan, who totaled four steals. “Since we lost the first game of the season (13-12 at Los Altos on Aug. 29), we’ve just wanted to bounce back overall. We want to go into Pacific League games with the best possible record so we can make it to CIF [playoffs].”
While blowout wins certainly can boast confidence, Wilson believes the victory is only one step in a larger plan.
“We’re just keeping a positive mindset from each win throughout the season,” Wilson said. “This is nice, but the goals are to win league and CIF and we just have to keep on pushing.”
Twitter: @campadresports
