College Update: Koemans, Northeastern conclude historic season

The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.

Breeana Koemans (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2012) Northeastern soccer sophomore: One of the greatest seasons in program history concluded for Northeastern and Koemans, a former All-Area Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year, on Saturday at Florida State.

The Huskies lost to the third-ranked Seminoles, 3-0, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Koemans started the game, as she had the last seven of the season, and fired off one of just three shots on goal for the Huskies.

Just seven days prior in the first round, Northeastern defeated Boston University, 2-0, for the first NCAA win in the history of the program

Northeastern ended the season at 15-5-3, setting a program record for most wins, with a record 17 shutouts along the way, as the Huskies won their second consecutive Colonial Athletic Assn. championship.

Koemans truly settled in this season with the Huskies, as the redshirt sophomore became a mainstay in the starting lineup late in the season and finished the year with 10 starts in 18 games played, two assists and her first NCAA goal.

Alexa Montgomery (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2012) Arizona soccer junior: Montgomery and the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament run came to a close Friday with a 7-2 loss to top-seeded Texas A&M.

Montgomery started at midfielder and played 62 minutes. In the Wildcats’ 1-0 opening-round victory over Oklahoma State on Nov. 14, she started on defense and played all 90 minutes.

On the season, Arizona went 11-8-2 with Montgomery playing in 18 games.

Claudia Pham (Crescenta Valley High, 2011) Dartmouth cross-country senior: Pham and the Big Green ran for as long as they could, concluding a stellar season Saturday with a 20th-place showing in the NCAA Division I Championship in Terre Haute, Ind.

Pham’s final race with Dartmouth was one of her best, as she was her team’s No. 3 runner, coming across in 160th place in 21 minutes 37 seconds.

Dartmouth, the only Ivy League team to take part in either the men’s or women’s finals, took 20th in the 6,000-meter race pitting the best of the best in the nation with 508 points. Michigan State won the title with 85 points.

“I was proud of the way the group ran today,” Dartmouth Coach Courtney Jaworski told the school’s website. “Dana [Giordano] fought back after her fall, Sarah [DeLozier] ran better than she had last year, and Claudia, Reid [Watson], Helen [Schlachtenhaufen] and Sarah Bennett all ran very solid races on a national level against the best competition in the country.”

Leah Gagliardi (Crescenta Valley High, 2011) University of North Carolina Wilmington volleyball senior: Gagliardi, a former All-Area honoree, saw playing time in 24 of her team’s 32 matches, with nine starts and 80 sets played out of 116. She totaled 139 kills with 71 blocks and 39 digs. Gagliardi notched a season-high 13 kills in a four-set match with James Madison on Oct. 31.

UNC Wilmington wrapped up its season at 21-11 and 10-7 in the Colonial Athletic Assn., with the Seahawks falling Saturday in the conference tournament semifinals against College of Charleston, 18-25, 17-25, 25-20, 26-24, 15-12.

Gagliardi, whose kill and block totals were career-highs, finished her career with 363 kills and 164 total blocks.

Hakop Kaplanyan (Clark Magnet, 2012) Los Angeles Valley College water polo freshman: A multiple-time All-Area Boys’ Water Polo Player of the Year who led the Tornadoes to their greatest seasons ever, Kaplanyan looks to have revitalized his college career with an outstanding freshman season at L.A. Valley.

Kaplanyan, a transfer from UCLA, was an All-American and All-Southern California first-team selection for the Monarchs, keying their ascent to a Western State Conference title and an appearance in the Southern California Regionals.

Kaplanyan put together some eye-popping numbers, tallying 100 goals, third in the WSC and third on his team, while leading the conference and his squad with 108 steals and 93 assists.

Glendale High product Arman Momdzhyan also turned in an excellent freshman campaign for Valley, earning second-team Southern California honors. Momdzhyan, last year’s All-Area Boys’ Water Polo Player of the Year, scored 113 goals (second in WSC) and provided 69 steals and 61 assists.

Crescenta Valley product Nate Fernandez was also a Monarchs starter, turning in 25 goals, 49 steals and 41 assists.

Valley (20-6), which went 6-0 in conference to win its first-ever WSC title, concluded its season Nov. 15 with its second loss in the Southern California Regionals, losing to Orange Coast, 20-18. Previously in the tournament, Valley, the No. 3 seed, opened with an 18-12 win over Palomar before falling against second-seeded Long Beach City, 11-9, which snapped a 10-match winning streak.

Over the course of the three postseason matches, Momdzhyan tallied 12 goals, two assists and two steals, while Kaplanyan totaled 11 goals, eight assists and two steals.

Breanna Lawton (Crescenta Valley High, 2013) Los Angleles Valley water polo sophomore: Under the tutelage of her high school coach Pete Loporchio, Lawton turned in a stellar final season at Valley, earning Western State Conference first-team honors and All-Southern California second-team accolades.

Lawton had 41 goals, 56 steals and 15 assists for the Monarchs.

Glendale High product Biyouregh Boghozian, a sophomore, was also a huge part of the Monarchs’ success, as she was a first-team all-conference pick with 77 goals, 26 steals and 24 assists.

Freshman Melani Aghazarian of Glendale was also a member of the team, tallying 24 goals, 17 assists and 13 steals.

Valley finished 19-7, while going 5-4 in conference play.