Falcons stung by bee, then Royal

Charles Rich

CRESCENTA VALLEY HIGH -- The yellow ball spun on top of the choppy

waters when Mike Hoy went to retrieve it late in the third quarter

Thursday.

Then Hoy, the starting goaltender for the Crescenta Valley boys’ water

polo team, placed his right hand on top of the ball and received an

unpleasant surprise -- a bee sting to his palm. Now Hoy had been stung

before, but never during a water polo match.

The stinger was removed, courtesy of a credit card that belonged to

Crescenta Valley Coach Jan Sakonju, but Hoy was stung again in sudden

death Thursday. This time on a long shot by Royal’s Sean Carnahan that

deflected off one of his defenders to help lead Royal, the top-ranked

team in CIF Division IV, to a 9-8 victory over the Falcons (17-4).

For all the punishment that Hoy, a senior, had to endure, it was

difficult to tell which incident was more painful. Hoy was a glutton for

punishment, having to spend much of the match turning aside point-blank

shots from Royal’s talented squad.

Despite the nagging pain from the sting, Hoy placed a positive spin on

an otherwise damper moment or two.

“I thought we played real well,” said Hoy, who finished with 13 saves.

“It seems to be our biggest nonleague game whenever we play Royal. This

game is always awesome, and they score on a shot that bounces off Travis

Schmitt and over me.

“The sting hurt whenever I passed the ball. Psychologically, I was

thinking about the sting, but I forgot about it in the fourth quarter.

So, I’m not upset about this loss.”

The Falcons, ranked fifth in the CIF Division III poll and the

defending Pacific League champions, held a 7-6 lead until Carnahan scored

with 1:05 left in regulation. Carnahan then won the game 47 seconds into

the match’s first sudden death period.

At least Sakonju’s credit card was in good standing for something

other than a dinner at a lavish Italian restaurant like Spago on a

Saturday night.

“I thought somebody was under the water, like one of those trick

plays,” Sakonju said. “Then I had to use the credit card to get it out.

Hoy made some crucial saves, and he was willing to sacrifice everything

for the team with his performance.”

David Mulcahey scored three goals for Crescenta Valley, which also

received a pair of goals each from Daniel Besedick and Jeff Little.

The Falcons’ Steve Han scored with 1:47 left in the second overtime to

make it 8-7, but Justin McClure of Royal (19-3) tied the match 54 second

later.

Should history repeat itself, then the Falcons stand a chance at

making a return trip to the CIF finals Nov. 22 at Belmont Plaza in Long

Beach. Crescenta Valley fell to Royal last season, but regrouped in time

to capture the league title and earn an appearance in the championship

match against La Canada.

This time they hope to get back without any obstacles like a bee sting

to a goaltender’s hand.