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Hoover boys’ water polo pours it on against ranked Burbank

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BURBANK — Even after scoring 21 goals in a key league match against a ranked opponent, Hoover boys’ water polo coach Kevin Witt said there’s room for improvement.

It’s something he planned to address with his team having nearly reached the halfway point in Pacific League competition.

Hoover received a match-high six goals from David Ashkharian and four from Jordan Corpuz to register a 21-6 league win at Burbank on Tuesday.

Hoover (11-7, 3-0 in league) recorded five man-advantage goals on eight chances and added two five-meter penalty goals to pull away from Burbank (8-3, 1-2).

“We’re going to have to find a way to come out with more energy,” Witt said. “It’s something I will emphasize to them even more now and we were a little sloppy in some areas, like in our six-on-five chances.

“I thought we played better on defense and we got some counter-attacks. We’re not where we want to be right now, but we are starting to get there.”

Hoover scored six goals in the first quarter to build a 6-2 lead against Burbank, ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division VI behind Tustin. Ashkarian and Corpuz set the tome, each scoring two goals in the quarter.

“We gave up that first goal and then we became more focused,” said Ashkharian, a reigning All-Area selection. “Once we got focused, we were able to take it away from Burbank.

“We know we have some things we need to improve on moving forward. But it does boost your confidence when you can get a win like this.”

Hoover, looking to win its second league championship in three seasons, got a man-advantage goal from Corpuz to take a 7-2 lead with 6:28 remaining in the second quarter. A man-advantage goal from Hakop Ansuryan extended Hoover’s lead to 10-4 with 2:46 left in the first half.

In all, Hoover got two goals apiece from Armando Honarchian, Hayk Nazaryan and Nic Salandi. The Tornadoes also got one goal each from Ansuryan, Artur Khachatryan, Vedi Gharibian and Pierre Panosian.

Burbank assistant Zach Card, filling in for Allyson Young, who is on paternity leave, said the Bulldogs had difficulty getting on track.

“I’ve only been working with them for about a month, so there’s a lack of experience,” Card said. “there’s a few years of bad habits and that’s a long time.

“There’s not a whole lot to learn from this game.”

Burbank received two goals from Kourosh Dolatshani and one each from Arty Gasparyan, Varuzhan Bibulyan, Johnny Agazaryan and Eddie Bowman.

The Tornadoes and Bulldogs will participate in league road matches Thursday. Hoover will meet Crescenta Valley at 4:30 p.m. at Pasadena City College and Burbank will play at Glendale.

charles.rich@latimes.com

Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich

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