Nitros blank main rival
SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — Biyouregh Boghozian was eager for the Pacific League portion of the schedule to begin. She didn’t wait long to make an impression for the Glendale High girls’ water polo team.
“We’ve been practicing hard every day, from our swimming sessions to our regular drills,” said Boghozian, who scored all four of her goals in the first quarter to help host Glendale blank cross-town rival Hoover, 16-0, on Tuesday afternoon. “I got a lot of real good passes and that helped me score.
“We were a little nervous coming in because it’s our first league game.”
Glendale (9-6) shut out Hoover (1-6) for the second straight season. Glendale posted a 13-0 road win last season.
Boghozian, a junior driver, scored all of her goals in less than five minutes to help make quick work of the Tornadoes. She gave Glendale a 1-0 lead with a man-advantage goal a minute into the contest. After Madeline Corpuz scored two straight goals to give the Nitros a 3-0 lead, Boghozian capped off her offensive output with three goals in a 59-second stretch to extend the advantage to 6-0.
The Nitros received five goals from Jacqueline Jones, all in the second half after the Nitros owned an 11-0 halftime lead.
Glendale third-year Coach Forest Holbrook said the Nitros sought a quick start.
“In our tournament games, we’ve had a tendency to come out slow,” Holbrook said. “We were able to come out fast.
“We were able to focus on our defense and it was fun to have everybody involved. Biyouregh is one of our top players. She’s got that combination of finesse and speed, which is very valuable.”
The Nitros received three goals from Corpuz, two from Claudia Somma and one from Marquita Lopez-Engelman.
Glendale held a 12-0 lead after the third quarter.
Lopez-Engelman started in goal and made nine saves during the first three quarters. Somma played the fourth quarter in goal, finishing with four saves.
Hoover first-year Coach Kevin Witt said Hoover’s inexperience showed Tuesday.
“They need more time and experience,” said Witt, a former standout player at Glendale, in college and at the national level. “We have to take the little things from this game.
“I’m not concerned about our offense. We gave up too many scoring chances. If you keep giving up easy opportunities, then you aren’t going to win.”
Hoover goalkeeper Jasmine Trinidad finished with seven saves.
