Water polo surges onward

La Cañada water polo charged on toward their second consecutive CIF Southern Section Division III championship on Saturday when the team traveled to Sunny Hills to defeat the Lancers, 14-5, in a second round playoff match.

The team got off to a slow start, scoring two unanswered goals in the first quarter, but picked up the pace before the half to outscore the Lancers 8-1.

Junior Spencer Borisoff led the effort with six goals, followed by Nate Vail with four and Mike Scott with two.

La Cañada remained strong after the break with four goals in the third before letting the Lancers back in the game with four goals to La Cañada’s two in the fourth.

“We are just trying to keep up the pace, and make fewer and fewer mistakes,” said Head Coach Larry Naeve.

Jack DePew and Max Scott each scored one goal for the Spartan effort while junior goalkeeper Taylor Roszkos made 15 saves to keep Sunny Hills off the board.

“He’s had some great games lately,” Naeve said. “The 15 saves, that is typical of him these days.”

On Thursday, the Spartans demolished the visiting Mark Keppel Aztecs at Pasadena City College in round one of playoffs.

La Cañada scored every 35 seconds or so in the first quarter to put the game away after the first seven minutes of play, moving into the second with an unanswered 12-0 lead. They left the Aztecs stumped at halftime with a 16-0 lead, and the Spartan bench kept the momentum going through the remainder of the game, finishing with a 21-4 victory.

Nate Vail, Spencer Borisoff, Mike Scott, Max Scott, Tim Perry, Frank Hwang, Daniel Tilem and Davis Hansen all scored for the Spartans.

The team hosted Ayala, the Sierra League No. 2 team, last night at Pasadena City College in the semifinal game.

The Bulldogs placed second in their Sierra League and previously defeated the Spartans’ Rio Hondo rival South Pasadena by one goal.

Results were unavailable at press time, but check www.lacanadaonline.com for the latest sports scores and news.