Crescenta Valley girls’ water polo seeking first finals berth
The following are playoff previews for Wednesday’s events involving local teams.
GIRLS’ WATER POLO
Crescenta Valley vs. Redlands East Valley at Whittier College, 5:30 p.m.: The Falcons (31-2) will face a familiar opponent in Redlands East Valley (23-8) in a CIF Southern Section Division V semifinal match. The teams met Feb. 2 at Pasadena City College with Crescenta Valley recording a 7-4 nonleague win.
“I’m glad we played them [earlier in the season],” said Crescenta Valley first-year Coach Brent Danna, who will look to lead the Falcons to their first finals appearance. “They have a very good goalkeeper and some real good field players.
“We like the way we are playing defensively. Hopefully, we can go out there and execute our game plan.”
Crescenta Valley won the Pacific League championship and advanced Saturday with a 15-8 quarterfinal road victory against Arlington. The Falcons will make their third straight trip to the semifinals and fifth overall in the team’s history.
Redlands East Valley, which took first in the Citrus Belt League, posted an 11-8 quarterfinal win against Cerritos.
The winner will battle second-seeded Riverside Poly or third-seeded Warren in the championship match Saturday at Heritage Park in Irvine. Riverside Poly and Warren will take part in a semifinal match at 4 p.m.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Desert at Flintridge Prep, 6 p.m.: Fourth-seeded Flintridge Prep (18-7) is coming off a 56-45 CIF Southern Section Division V-AA second-round road victory against Lancaster Desert Christian on Saturday.
Fifth-seeded Desert (21-1) earned a 50-31 second-round victory against Buckley. The Scorpions won the Desert League championship.
The winner will take on top-seeded Sierra Canyon or ninth-seeded Aquinas in a semifinal game Saturday.
BOYS’ SOCCER
Century at Crescenta Valley, 3 p.m.: Crescenta Valley (19-3-7) started its CIF Southern Section Division III playoff run Friday with a 3-2 overtime road win against Placentia Valencia. Erick Trejo scored the match-winning goal for the Falcons, who won the Division IV title last season.
Crescenta Valley will next take on fourth-seeded Century, which notched a 4-1 first-round home win against Murrieta Valley. Century finished second in the Orange League.
The winner will meet Oxnard or Woodbridge in a quarterfinal match Friday.