Crescenta Valley boys’ water polo’s Goddard reels in top Pacific League honor

Backed by Logan Goddard turning aside shots in the cage, the Crescenta Valley High boys’ water polo team enjoyed a banner season.

Crescenta Valley won the Pacific League championship and finished runner-up in the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs while going 26-7, 8-0 in league.

Goddard consistently excelled in handling his position, finishing with 238 saves and leading to the senior being selected the league’s player of the year, as voted on by the league’s seven coaches.

“It’s about being able to go out there and carry on with the tradition of the school and program,” Goddard said. “A lot of great players have come through the program for such a long time and it means a lot to get an honor like this one.

“We were able to win our league, which was one of our goals, and get to the CIF finals. It’s definitely been a memorable season.”

Crescenta Valley Coach Jan Sakonju, who shared the league coach of the year honor with Hoover’s Kevin Witt, said Goddard enjoyed a fantastic season.

“Logan went out there and continued the success that we had from last year,” Sakonju said. “He made the big stops in the close games and we had some one-goal matches.

“We brought him up from the junior varsity team during his sophomore year to get a taste of what it’s like at the varsity level. He got better during his junior year and was even better this year. We’ve had a lot of great goalkeepers come through the program and he’s one of the best we’ve had.”

Vasil Halchev, Reagan Hesse and Wesley Hovanesian of Crescenta Valley and Hoover’s Harout Ashkharian and Aren Sukiasyan earned spots on the all-league first team.

Halchev, a senior hole/set, finished with 74 goals, 47 steals and 19 assists. Reese, a junior utility, provided 81 goals, 59 steals and 18 assists. Hovanesian, a senior hole/guard, contributed 20 goals, 56 steals and 22 assists.

“We designed our offense around Vasil and it made it difficult for defenses to drop down on him,” Sakonju said. “He became an even more complete player in terms of leadership and communication.

“Reagan brought a bit of everything to the table in that he could score big goals and be a top defender. Wesley was our defensive specialist who had to usually guard the other team’s top players.”

Hoover, which finished 21-7, 6-2 for second place, saw Ashkharian and Sukiasyan provide a lethal one-two punch on offense and help the Tornadoes advance to the Division IV quarterfinals.

Ashkharian, a junior attacker, registered 106 goals, 48 steals and 45 assists. Sukiasyan, a junior, collected 56 goals, 67 assists and 55 steals.

“Harout showed why he’s one of the best shooters on our team,” Witt said. “In my opinion, he’s the best offensive player in our league.

“Aren is one of the smartest players in our league. He’s got that great left-handed shot and he always drew a lot of attention.”

Levon Haik Gukasyan and Levon Gukasyan of Hoover, Crescenta Valley’s Brandon Fernandez and Jayson Wilia of Glendale (2-12, 2-5) were named to the second team.

Levon Haik Gukasyan, a junior utility, notched 42 goals, 98 steals and 34 assists. Levon Gukasyan, a junior utility, added 56 goals, 40 steals and 25 assists. Fernandez, a junior driver, had 59 goals and 31 steals. Wilia, a senior driver who helped Glendale win a Division V championship in 2013, finished with 70 goals, 31 steals and 19 assists.

Crescenta Valley’s Julian Bartolome, Hoover’s Jonathan Salandi and Hamlet Pachanian of Glendale received honorable mention.

Bartolome, a senior hole/guard, had 16 goals. Salandi, a junior goalkeeper, finished with 287 saves. Pachaian, a senior hole/set, had 33 goals, 23 steals and 16 assists.

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Charles Rich, charles.rich@latimes.com

Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich