Late Goal Sinks Bulldogs

GIRLS’ WATER POLO: Glendale scores in finals seconds to earn 11-10 win against Burbank.
By Gabriel Rizk, Burbank Leader

Published: January 29, 2010

BURBANK HIGH — The Burbank High girls’ water polo team didn’t leave a whole lot of time for Glendale to answer its game-tying tally late in the fourth quarter on Wednesday, but the Bulldogs left just enough for the Nitros to pull out a big win that figures to complicate the Pacific League playoff picture heading into the upcoming league tournament.

Burbank’s Nichole Valencia scored on a deep lob with 20 seconds left to pull even with Glendale, only to see the Nitros’ Desiree Solano Garcia wrest the lead back with three seconds remaining to seal an 11-10 victory.“I had been messing up the whole game and I was frustrated, so I was like, ‘I have to make this last shot with all my force,’” said Solano Garcia, who appeared to have no good angle for a shot with four defenders converging around her in front of the goal, but managed to flip a sidearm shot into the goal anyway. “We were gonna cry if we didn’t win, so we’re really happy. It was a team effort.”

It was a frustrating end for a Bulldogs team (7-11, 1-3 in league) that battled its way back from a three-goal deficit over the final five minutes and came close to taking that momentum into overtime.“We were a little concerned when we scored with 20 seconds to go because we had given them a lot of time,” said Burbank Coach Carlos Pelayo, whose team has league matches left against Burroughs and Hoover. “But give them credit, they ran their play and scored with three seconds left.”

Glendale improved to 2-3 in league with its only remaining regular-season league match set for Wednesday against Hoover.“If we’re gonna make CIF, we had to beat this team — right now, it looks like we’re fighting for that third spot,” Glendale Coach Forest Holbrook said. “This was a back-and-forth game and it’s awesome to see our girls play together and finish the game off with three seconds left.”Kristina Terzyan, who led the Nitros with five goals, scored to give Glendale a 5-1 lead with 1:25 remaining in the first half.

Danielle Reed scored a goal for Burbank on a 6-5 advantage just before the end of the half and the Bulldogs picked up the second half right were they left off. Jordan Card, who scored four goals and had five steals for Burbank, scored on a pass from Natalie Pentkowski to tie the game at 5 with four minutes to go in the third period.Glendale would get the lead back up to 9-6 on a goal by Katren Ter-Oganesyan with four seconds left in the third and led, 10-7, with 5:18 left to play.But the Nitros, already without co-captain Anabel Beiki, lost Ter-Oganesyan to ejection with 4:30 to go and soon saw their lead dwindle to one goal on a Card five-meter shot inside the final minute.Valencia took a pass on the left side from goalkeeper Sarah Tubert (nine saves) and connected on a high lob from long range for the tie.

Dogs Go COLD in CIF Defeat

GIRLS’ WATER POLO: Long drought opens the door for La Cañada as Burbank falls in playoff quarterfinals, 6-2.
By Jeff Tully
Published:Tuesday, February 24, 2009

BURBANK HIGH — When the Burbank High girls’ water polo team scored the first goal of its playoff match with La Cañada, the Bulldogs probably figured there would be a lot more of the same. Unfortunately for Burbank, that wasn’t the case. In fact, the Bulldogs embarked on a monumental drought and weren’t able to tally another goal until midway through the fourth quarter. With the Bulldogs going cold, the Spartans stepped up; playing solid defense and getting key goals in a 6-2 CIF Southern Section Division IV quarterfinal win Saturday for La Cañada at Burbank.

“Our shots were definitely off in this game,” Burbank Coach Carlos Pelayo said. “We had trouble with our shooting for sure.“But that’s indicative of the way La Cañada plays. They play very good defense and that was big for them.”The loss ends the most successful season in Burbank girls’ water polo history.

The Bulldogs (20-10) not only won the Pacific League championship for the first time this season, but they also made it to the CIF quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. Pelayo said his players have a great deal to be proud of this season. “I told them that this one loss shouldn’t overshadow all the other positive things they have accomplished this season,” said Pelayo, whose team was the fifth seed. “I also told them that they shouldn’t hang their heads. They played as hard as they could against La Cañada.

”Burbank received a goal from Alex O’Connor and one from Amnerlynn Ullo. The No. 4-seeded Spartans (26-6) were able to dominate play after falling behind in the match’s opening moments. The team was paced by Berit Kaesler, who tallied a match-high three goals. Teammate Shannon Streeter added two and Riley Kessley had one. Burbank played well on defense to open the match, and when O’Connor scored on a tip-in with 5:55 remaining, the Bulldogs had a positive start. However, what followed was a long dry spell for the Bulldogs. They converted just one of 11 shots in the first half and were just two for 25 in the match.

The Spartans went to work, scoring the next three consecutive goals to take a 3-1 lead after one quarter. The Bulldogs were unable to score in the second and third quarters, as La Cañada took a 5-1 lead into the fourth quarter. The Spartans’ Kaeslar scored at the 4:35 mark in the fourth quarter to give her team a commanding 6-1 lead. Finally, after a scoreless drought of 23:16, Burbank scored its second goal of the match on a five-meter penalty shot by Ullo.

“La Cañada is just one heck of a team, and they gave us a lot of trouble,” Pelayo said.“But I have to give my girls credit for not giving up and not backing down, Even when they went down by [five], they never gave up. They were in there battling to the end.”

History In The Making

The Burbank High girls' water polo team celebrates a win over Crescenta Valley that clinched the Pacific League title. (Roger Wilson/The Leader)

GIRLS’ WATER POLO: Burbank defeats CV, 7-5, to capture program’s first league championship.
By Grant Gordon
Published:February 13, 2009

BURBANK HIGH — Technically speaking, the Burbank High girls’ water polo team clinched its first-ever Pacific League title on Tuesday. It clinched a share, anyway. But it was hardly satisfying. “They knew from Day One this was our goal, not to share a league title, but have one all are own,” said Burbank Coach Carlos Pelayo of his Bulldogs shortly after they had tossed him into the Burbank High pool in celebration of their 7-5 win against Crescenta Valley in the Pacific League Tournament championship match on Thursday.

After an undefeated run through the league’s regular season, Burbank’s defeat of Burroughs on Tuesday in the first round of the league tournament assured it no less than a share of the title. But the Bulldogs defense proved pivotal in making sure the school aquatics program’s first league title would be an outright crown. “It feels amazing because we worked so hard,” Burbank’s Sara Puranan said. “We made history.“Everyone put all their best effort in.

”The title was the first for a Burbank girls’ team since tennis won a championship in 2002, and only the second girls’ crown in 19 years.Indeed history was made, as it was not just Burbank water polo’s first-ever league title,It was an onus on defense that propelled the Crescenta Valley High girls’ water polo team to success all season long and its berth in the championship match of the Pacific League tournament.

But in the rubber match against rival Burbank on Thursday afternoon, it was the Bulldogs defense that proved to be just a bit stronger, as the Falcons fell in their claim to share the league title, losing to Burbank, 7-5. “Hats off to Burbank, they played a really good game, they had a smothering defense,” said Falcons Coach Pete Loporchio. “It’s the old cliché that defense wins championships and they put the clamps down.”The Falcons (18-9, 7-1 in league), the fifth-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division IV, were held to just one goal in the final 11:15 of the match by the Bulldogs (19-9, 8-0), the division’s No. 7 team. “That’s what we worked on the entire season, if we can play good defense, we can stay in any game,” said Burbank Coach Carlos Pelayo, whose team, which defeated CV in the teams’ league meeting, but later lost at a tournament in Oxnard to the Falcons, recorded the first league title in the school’s aquatics history.

For Pelayo, a Crescenta Valley graduate, and the Bulldogs it was a historic win, but for the Falcons, who would’ve forced a shared league title with a win, it was the end of a string of five straight league titles. While many predicted a changing of the guard with Burbank featuring a senior-laden team and Crescenta Valley featuring no less than nine sophomores at the season’s onset, it did little to lessen the sting for many of the Falcons. Still, Loporchio was plenty happy with the improvement his team showed from the summer to Thursday.“I wouldn’t trade this team for any other team,” said Loporchio, who also got a tremendous effort out of goalie Sophie Munoz, who had 11 saves. “I think we’ve closed the gap, I think our future’s bright and we have another season starting with the playoffs. ”Who, where and when the Falcons play in the upcoming postseason will be releasedon Monday.

On Thursday, just as much as the defense’s umbrella around the Burbank cage paid dividends, so too did the Bulldogs’ ability to draw first blood on offense. The Falcons played from behind from beginning to end and the Bulldogs scored first in all four periods.Just 23 seconds into the match, Burbank’s Alex O’Connor scored and, just seven seconds later, Crescenta Valley’s Kim Fraisse answered to make it 1-1.But the match settled into a defensive battle soon after.

Amberlynn Ullo, one of four players in the match with multiple goals, scored her first with 27 ticks left in the first quarter to give Burbank a 2-1 lead.Ullo and teammate Arpi Khanpapyan each had two goals, while Crescenta Valley’s Olivia Trimis and Christine Cho also notched a pair of scores. Cho scored with 2:30 left in the half and Trimis converted a shot from near mid-pool on an off-balance attempt with only 1:46 remaining in the half. Trimis later gave up a steal to Mary Stepanyan, which led to a one-on-one opportunity, but a hustling Trimis stole the ball back before a shot could be taken right as the buzzer ended the half. Tied at 3 to start the third period, Burbank once again struck first, with Sara Puranan scoring a man-advantage goal.

Down 5-3, Cho scored off a steal right in front of the Burbank cage to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to a goal with 4:15 to go in the third period.Cho later lobbed in a shot that officials said Burbank goalie Sarah Tubert reached before it hit the cage. An almost identical scenario occurred not long after, this time with Corinne Ingalla’s shot deflected in, but getting taken out.Nevertheless, Burbank left notching to chance in the fourth period with Khanpapyan and Stepanyan scoring goals to build their team’s lead to 7-4.Setback or not, Loporchio believes Thursday already has his team in playoff-mode and ready to move past the loss.“[The league tournament] kinda gets us ready,” he said. “This brings out the best in both teams.”

Bulldogs Secure Share Of Title

GIRLS’ WATER POLO: Burbank defeats Burroughs, 14-3, and will play CV for outright league championship.

By Jeff Tully
Burbank Leader
Tuesday, February 10, 2009

BURBANK HIGH — There was no celebrating for the Burbank High girls’ water polo team following a 14-3 victory Tuesday against Burroughs. Although the Bulldogs secured a share of the Pacific League championship with the win in the tournament semifinals, the team has its sights set on a bigger goal. “We want to win the championship outright,” Burbank Coach Carlos Pelayo said. “That has been our goal all season. ”The Bulldogs have never captured a league title in girls’ water polo. Having already secured a share of the championship, it is only the second team title by a Burbank girls’ squad since the tennis team won a crown in 2002 — in the Foothill League. In addition, it is only the second girls’ title in 19 years, as the track and field team brought home a Foothill League championship in 1990. “The girls are well aware that we have one more step until we reach our goal,” Pelayo said. “Winning a share of the league title is nice, but we want to win the tournament and go into the playoffs as the No. 1 team from the league.

”Burbank (18-9, 7-0 in league) will go against Crescenta Valley (18-8, 6-1) at 5 p.m. Thursday in a championship match at Burbank High. The Falcons defeated Pasadena, 15-6, Tuesday in their semifinal contest.In the latest CIF Southern Section Division IV poll, Crescenta Valley is ranked fifth and Burbank is seventh. Last month, Burbank defeated the Falcons, 10-9, in sudden-death overtime. However, in the Oxnard Tournament last month, the Falcons defeated the Bulldogs, 7-3. “In that tournament we didn’t have our starting goalkeeper and we were missing one of our starting field players,” Pelayo said. Burroughs (9-12, 3-4) — which has already qualified for the postseason — will play at 4 p.m. Thursday in a third-place match against Pasadena. Indians Coach Carlos Ponce said he welcomes a rematch with Pasadena, which defeated his squad during the regular season.“I think we have improved since the last time we played Pasadena,” Ponce said. “This is going to be a great opportunity for us.”As been its forte all season, Burbank put on a dominating defensive performance against Burroughs.

The defense shut out the Indians in the first, as the squad took a 7-0 lead.The Bulldogs were paced by Mary Stepanyan, who tallied a match-high five goals.Burroughs received two goals from Ally Syverud and one from Ekle Besvold.In goal for Burbank, Sarah Tubert made five saves.“I thought we played a lot better in the second half,” Ponce said. “I was really happy with that.“But Burbank is a very good team. We are rivals in the pool, but we pull for them in other games. We will be rooting for them on Thursday.”

A Little Closer To A Title?

GIRLS’ WATER POLO: Burbank defeats Burroughs, 18-3, to finish league regular season undefeated.

By Jeff Tully
Published:Saturday, February 7, 2009 Burbank Leader

BURROUGHS HIGH — With a convincing 18-3 victory Wednesday against cross-town rival Burroughs, the Burbank High girls’ water polo team completed a Pacific League sweep of its six league opponents. Accomplishing that feat in any other team sport in the Southern Section would give a team like the Bulldogs a league championship. However, in water polo, things are done a little differently. If Burbank wants to nail down its first-ever crown, it has to win two head-to-head matches against league foes in the Pacific League Tournament, which begins Tuesday at Burbank High.

With a point system in play, teams’ final placement in league play will be factored in with their finish in the league tournament. “We know if we win our last two games, we will win the league championship,” said Burbank Coach Carlos Pelayo, who accomplished half of that goal by defeating the Indians. “If we are able to make it to the final game, we will clinch at least a share of the league championship.

”This is the second time in school history that Burbank (17-9, 6-0 in league) has captured the regular-season league title. In 2007, the squad also went undefeated in the regular season. However, in the first match of the league tournament, the No. 1-seeded Bulldogs were defeated by fourth-seeded Glendale, 9-7. The team went into the playoffs as the second-place team from the league.

Well aware of what happened two seasons ago, Pelayo is trying to make sure this year’s team doesn’t suffer a letdown. “The girls know what happened two years ago, and they realize what could happen,” he said. “But I have changed my coaching a little from previous years so we are ready for the tournament. In years past we would work hard going into the tournament. This year, we will taper off a bit heading in so there isn’t that fatigue factor. ”If everything falls into place for Burbank, it would likely face Crescenta Valley in the tournament championship.

Last month, Burbank defeated the Falcons, 10-9, in sudden-death overtime. In the latest CIF Southern Section Division IV poll, Crescenta Valley is ranked fifth and Burbank is seventh. Burbank isn’t the only team that is headed for the postseason. Despite Wednesday’s loss, Burroughs (9-11, 3-3) can’t finish any lower than fourth in league. The top four teams earn automatic playoff berths.

However, before they hit the playoffs, the Indians must again face the Bulldogs on Tuesday in an opening-round league tournament contest.“We definitely have to make some adjustments against them,” Burroughs Coach Carlos Ponce said. “Burbank is a great team, there’s no doubt about that. But we just didn’t play our best against them I know we can play better.”Burroughs was actually able to stay with Burbank in the early going. When Indian Bianca Dekker lobbed a shot for a goal with 2:51 remaining in the first quarter, Burroughs was able to tie the score at 3.

However, what followed was a monumental dry spell by the Indians. Following the Dekker goal, the Bulldogs defense clamped down and didn’t allow a single score the rest of the match. Burbank went on a scoring binge, tallying the next 15 straight goals.Burbank was paced by Amberlynn Ullo and Alex O’Connor, who scored five goals each. Teammate Mary Stepanyan added four goals. Dekker had two goals for Burroughs and Chloe Thorton added one. Dekker had to leave the match after being majored in the third quarter.

BHS Sinks Crescenta Valley

Burbank High's Arpi Khanpapyan takes a shot during a
Pacific League match against Crescenta Valley
(Alex Collins/ The Leader)

GIRLS’ WATER POLO: Burbank able to sink Crescenta Valley in sudden death overtime to capture league match, 10-9.
By Charles Rich
Published: January 16, 2009 Burbank Leader

BURBANK HIGH — Entering the season, many had predicted that the Crescenta Valley and Burbank high girls’ water polo teams would battle for supremacy in the Pacific League.Crescenta Valley entered the season having ruled the league for the past four seasons. Burbank came in looking to chip away at the Falcons’ armor. And Burbank did just that. Amberlynn Ullo scored the match-winning goal three minutes into sudden death overtime to give Burbank a 10-9 home victory against Crescenta Valley on Wednesday afternoon.

Ullo, a senior driver, also sent the dramatic match into sudden death after scoring with one second left in the second of two three-minute overtime sessions. Ullo needed to make an impact if the Bulldogs (10-4, 3-0 in league) planned to supplant the Falcons (8-5, 3-1) atop league.“We knew that we had to step it up at the end,” said Ullo, who finished with three goals. “On the winning shot, I didn’t think it went in because there was so much splashing. “I’m happy for my teammates and myself because we all played so amazingly. ”Ullo beat Crescenta Valley junior goalkeeper Sofie Munoz with a low shot for the winning goal.

Ullo and the Bulldogs path to victory didn’t come without controversy, though.After Crescenta Valley grabbed a 9-8 lead on a goal by senior hole/set Olivia Trimis with 56 seconds left in the second extra session, the Falcons appeared to have the match wrapped up after Munoz made a save. An alert Ullo went toward Munoz, who tried to run out the clock. Ullo stole the ball from Munoz and then scored. Crescenta Valley Coach Pete Loporchio, whose team is ranked No. 8 in CIF Southern Section Division VI, said Munoz had sole possession of the ball and that the goal should not have counted. “[Munoz] had the ball and [Ullo] grabbed the ball from her shoulder,” said Loporchio, who got four goals from senior utility player Taylor Kuh. “It’s not the right call because Sofie had possession of the ball. “Let the players determine the game.

It was an epic battle, and we played hard. Somebody had to come up on the short end. ”The Bulldogs, ranked No. 6 in Division VI, had to play catch-up throughout the bulk of regulation. Crescenta Valley took an 8-6 lead on a goal by Trimis with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter. Burbank closed to within 8-7 on a five-meter shot by Ullo before knotting the match at 8 on a tally by senior utility player Alex O’Connor with 1:24 remaining.

Burbank Coach Carlos Pelayo, a standout on the Crescenta Valley boys’ squad nearly a decade ago, said the Bulldogs needed to stay patient on defense to lead to a possible offensive surge. “Down the stretch, it was our defense that played well,” Pelayo said. “We knew coming in that CV’s an excellent team and they are well-coached, so we had to adjust on defense to give us a chance later on offense.“We played collectively on defense and that got us going on offense. We pushed them.“For the moment, we are in first place.

February will be the time, and you know that anything can happen in our league. You just don’t know how or when.”O’Connor scored four goals for Burbank, which got two from Arpi Khanpapyan and one from Mary Stepanyan. Crescenta Valley received two goals from Trimis and Adrienne Ingalla and one from Kim Fraisse.