Erik Boal
Editor's Note: The following is a look back at the top 10 sports
stories of the past year, as voted upon by the News-Press sports
department:
10 The road to Yerevan is paved with gold: A pair of teams, one
representing Glendale, the other L.A. Valley, traveled to the Third
Pan Armenian Games in August in search of glory.
One was considered a favorite in men's basketball, the other was
an underdog in men's soccer. But in a span of a few hours Aug. 24,
they found themselves in the same elite company as gold-medal
winners.
Representing the Homenetmen Ararat Chapter, the Glendale men's
basketball team -- behind Hoover graduate and Cal Lutheran University
senior Zareh Avedian's 49-point, 20-rebound effort -- defeated host
Yerevan, 97-92, in overtime at the Karen Demirchyan Sports-Cultural
Center.
The victory capped a dominant six-game run for Glendale, led by
Avedian's 32.5 point-per-game average.
As for the L.A. Valley men's soccer team -- which was guided by
former La Canada's girls' Coach Phil Hacopians, and featured a number
of former Hoover players -- its road to the title provided a few more
anxious moments.
L.A. Valley defeated Gyumri, 3-2, in the playoff quarterfinals,
before outlasting tournament favorite Tehran, 4-2, on penalty kicks
in the semifinals after the teams played to a scoreless tie in
regulation.
Those two triumphs paved the way for a 4-1 victory against Moscow
in the final at Vazgen Sargsyan Stadium.
Another local team, the Glendale women's basketball squad, took
home a silver medal, falling to three-time champion Yerevan, 85-57,
in the final. Former Glendale High graduate Mania Houspian -- who
played for L.A. Valley -- led the tournament in scoring, averaging
28.2 points per game.
9 Streaks are for more than just newspaper folk: Dan Berry said
streaks are "for newspapers and other people," but since 1997, one of
the most prestigious streaks in area history belonged to his
Crescenta Valley softball team, and only his squad.
That was, until Glendale upstaged the Falcons on their home field
May 1.
After 55 consecutive Pacific League victories -- the fifth-longest
league-winning streak in CIF Southern Section history -- CV finally
met its match against the visiting Nitros, falling, 2-1, in a
thrilling nine-inning contest that featured 12 strikeouts from
News-Press All-Area Player of the Year and Glendale senior pitcher
Heather Hamasaki, a fourth-inning solo home run by Nitro senior
Danielle Soule and the game-winning double by senior catcher Vanessa
Roggia.
