Playoffs

From Staff Reports The Glendale High girls' soccer team will return to the playoffs. Janine Baker, a sophomore midfielder, scored two goals Tuesday to lead visiting Glendale to a 2-1 Pacific League victory against Hoover. Glendale (5-14, 5-5 in league) clinched third place in league behind Arcadia and Crescenta Valley, and will compete in the CIF Southern Section Division II postseason. Glendale last participated in the postseason in 2002, when it dropped a 1-0 overtime decision to Palmdale in a Division I first-round match.

Hamlet Nalbandyan ARCADIA -- Judging from Thursday's performance, one has to wonder how the Hoover High boys' water polo team lost to Pasadena High in the regular season. The Tornadoes dominated in every facet of the match, rolling to a 13-7 victory in the third-place game of the Pacific League Championships at Arcadia High. Earlier in the year, Hoover had lost to the Bulldogs, 14-12. But with the victory Thursday, the Tornadoes advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs for the first time since 1994.

Erik Boal Eighteen local teams qualified for the CIF Southern Section playoffs when the pairings were announced Sunday and Monday, and four of them are wasting no time beginning what they hope to be deep postseason runs. Here's a preview of today's playoff action: BOYS' BASKETBALL Rialto Eisenhower at Glendale, 7 p.m.: Nitro Coach Steve Snodgress wrestled with the idea of even submitting the paperwork for his team to receive an at-large berth in the Division IAA playoffs.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan Officially, the La Canada High girls' volleyball team was awarded the No. 1 seed in the CIF Southern Section Division IIIAA playoffs when the postseason pairings were announced Sunday in Los Alamitos. Unofficially, the Spartans might have had the most unfavorable draw. On the bright side, La Canada will have a couple of more days off until it hosts either Lakewood St. Joseph or Santa Paula at 7 p.m. Thursday. Unfortunately for the Spartans, St. Joseph is ranked No. 1 in the division, and is likely to defeat Santa Paula.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan If a spectator walked past the Hoover High girls' basketball players following their CIF Southern Section Division IA playoff game against Temescal Valley, one would think the Tornadoes won their wild-card game. The Tornadoes joked with each other, one of them -- 5-foot-4 freshman guard Rachael Estrella -- predicted she would dunk by her senior season and another -- sophomore Annette Arzoo -- called her team the Seven Dwarfs.

From Staff Reports Glendale vs. Hoover at Moyse Field, 7 p.m.: The 75th meeting between Glendale and Hoover won't have as much intrigue as originally thought. With Crescenta Valley's 42-21 loss to Arcadia Thursday night, the Nitros don't necessarily need their fourth consecutive victory against the Tornadoes to make the postseason for the first time since 1991. That's because Glendale (4-5, 2-2 in league) has already clinched a CIF Southern Section Division III berth, because it'll own any possible tiebreaker with CV (4-5, 2-3)

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan GLENDALE -- After losing possibly its biggest game of the season, 71-61, against West L.A. Saturday in a Western State Conference Southern Division contest, the Glendale Community College women's basketball team felt the backlash in the pairings of the Southern California Regional playoff bracket. A win at West L.A. could have secured a No. 9 seed and a home game in the playoffs, but due to a poor shooting night, GCC (17-12)

GLENDALE ? Getting a high seed and subsequent first-round bye in the CIF Southern Section playoff pairings that were released on Sunday was a refreshing departure from the recent past for two of the area?s postseason-bound boys? basketball teams. For the Flintridge Prep Rebels, seeded fifth in Division IV-A, just being back in the playoffs was a welcome change following a one-year hiatus in 2006-07. Renaissance Academy, the top seed in Division III-A, has enjoyed a high seed in the playoffs for several years running.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — The Glendale-Hoover high rivalry burns intensely even under the most benign of circumstances, but when you add playoff and league title implications for both sides, that’s when things really get heated. The Tornadoes and host Nitros’ objectives were directly at odds with each other on Thursday afternoon, with Hoover most likely needing a win to stay in the Pacific League title hunt and Glendale facing likely elimination from playoff contention with a loss.

GLENDALE — It will be more of the same for one area high school boys’ soccer team and something new for two others. Though none of the five local teams won a league championship this season, three earned the right to move on to the postseason after the CIF office unveiled its playoff pairings Monday afternoon. For St. Francis, Crescenta Valley and Glendale, they can break out a map to help them reach their respective destinations for their opening playoff appearances.

Karlsen Termini couldn't help but notice a gradual increase of fans who have flocked to the Glendale Sports Complex to watch the surging Flintridge Prep baseball team compete this season. The contingent has seen quite a turnaround campaign from the Rebels, who gained a share of the Prep League championship since 1997 and won a playoff game for the first time since 1999. Termini and the Rebels will have another chance to dazzle their fan base when fourth-seeded Flintridge Prep meets visiting Crean Lutheran at 3:15 p.m. Friday in a CIF Southern Section Division VI quarterfinal game at the Glendale Sports Complex.

It took more than three hours for the Flintridge Prep baseball team to make the trip to Lake Isabella for a CIF Southern Section Division VI second-round playoff contest against Kern Valley on Tuesday. Karlsen Termini felt sluggish following the long journey and struggled on the mound in the first inning, walking the first three batters he faced before being replaced by Clayton Weirick. Weirick limited the damage and then finished up strong and Termini contributed three hits and four runs batted in to pace fourth-seeded Flintridge Prep to a 6-3 victory.

GLENDALE - With a fresh start, the members of the Flintridge Prep baseball team have accomplished two things this season that haven't been done since the 1990s. Under the guidance of first-year coach Guillermo Gonzalez, the Rebels won their first Prep League championship since 1997. Flintridge Prep then crossed off another item off its check list Friday. PHOTOS: Flintridge Prep vs. Santa Paula baseball Karlsen Termini hit a two-run home run and starting pitcher Brenden McKiernan tossed a complete game to lift Flintridge Prep to a 14-6 home victory against Santa Paula in a CIF Southern Section Division VI first-round contest at the Glendale Sports Complex.

In the current state of CIF Southern Section postseason baseball, not even winning a league title is a guarantee for a first-round playoff home game. In the cases of Crescenta Valley High and Flintridge Prep, both teams shared titles in their respective leagues, but, fortunately for the Falcons and Rebels, they ended up on the right end of tiebreakers and will host first-round playoff games on Friday. As released Monday by the CIF Southern Section offices, the Falcons (20-7) will host Yucaipa or Great Oak in the first round of the Division II playoffs, while the Rebels (15-8)

VALLEY GLEN - Hoover High boys' tennis Coach Julie Hoppe knew her team had a daunting task in traveling to face third-seeded Harvard-Westlake for its CIF Southern Section Division I match on Wednesday. And while the match at L.A. Valley College didn't result in a major upset, rather a 15-3 win for Harvard-Westlake, Hoppe was pleased with her team's effort and overall showing against the Mission League champion Wolverines. “We knew coming in they were a really good team,” said Hoppe, who coached the Tornadoes to a 9-7 record and third-place finish in the Pacific League.

LA CAÑADA - Whether it has been playoff basketball or postseason volleyball, the fanatic students at Flintridge Prep have seen their share of memorable contests. They saw another thrilling match Tuesday night when the Prep boys' volleyball team took on Cerritos Whitney in a first-round contest of the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs. PHOTOS: Flintridge Prep vs. Whitney CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs The Rebels took an exciting first game and dropped the next two games by a combined five points before winning the fourth game by three points, setting up a winner-take-all fifth game.

For a second season in a row, the Hoover High boys' tennis team finds itself in the CIF Southern Section playoffs and the Tornadoes find themselves with a daunting task. Hoover is set to face Harvard-Westlake, the third seed in the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs, in the first round on Wednesday at 3 p.m. Elsewhere in Division I, Crescenta Valley will host Redondo Union in Tuesday's wild-card round, while Flintridge Prep, in Division II, will travel to face Walnut in a Division II wild-card matchup.

ARCADIA - It was a must-win situation for the Crescenta Valley High boys' volleyball team Tuesday evening, but Falcons Coach John Nelson wasn't quite sure why they didn't play like it. The Falcons needed to win their regular season finale against host Arcadia to finish in fourth place in the Pacific League standings and, in turn, earn an automatic playoff berth. Arcadia needed the win just as badly, as both teams went into the match at 5-6 in league play. Ultimately, the Falcons were flat and succumbed to a more energized team that played up to the high stakes and were swept, 25-23, 25-16, 25-17.

GIRLS' LACROSSE Chaminade 11, Glendale 4: Lymayre Aguilar finished with three goals Tuesday for the Nitros, who saw their season come to a close in a US Lacrosse CIF Southern Section North Division second-round road match. Elibeth Torres scored one goal for the Nitros, who finished 6-10. “We had plenty of opportunities, but we didn't shoot very well,” said Glendale Coach Joe Campbell, whose team picked up a 7-5 first-round home victory against Beverly Hills. “We had a young team and we made strides in getting back to the playoffs.” Against Beverly Hills, Aguilar collected a team-high three goals.

PASADENA - Shortly after being named coach of the St. Francis High golf team last summer, Kyle Ostrom closely examined the Golden Knights' player personnel. Ostrom studied the potential lineup combinations and had an inkling the Golden Knights would be in line to possibly advance to the postseason for the first time since 2008. PHOTOS: St. Francis boys' golf “I knew the guys real well and a lot of it just had to do with maturity on the course,” said Ostrom, whose team picked up a 192-236 Mission League home win against Crespi on Wednesday at Brookside Golf Course No. 1 after clinching a playoff appearance Tuesday.