Water Polo

Having left a string of lopsided Pacific League wins and impressive nonleague triumphs over highly-ranked foes in its wake, Crescenta Valley High's girls' water polo team was expected to be the No. 1 seed when Sunday's CIF playoff pairings were announced and the Falcons were just that. The Falcons will host a wild-card entry in Wednesday's first round, while Glendale, the third-place finisher out of the Pacific League, will travel to face fourth-seeded Redlands East Valley. Buoyed by a balanced squad that's offense has been equally impressive as its defense, the Falcons are led by the likes of Shannon Hovanesian, Elissa Arnold, Katie Benson and Breana Lawton.

BOYS' SOCCER Glendale 5, Hoover 0 : Needing a victory and some help to qualify for the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs, the Nitros did their part as they received two goals from Albert Chamagua on Thursday in a Pacific League road match at Toll Middle School. The victory, coupled with Crescenta Valley's victory against Arcadia and Pasadena's win over Muir, gave the Nitros the fourth and final automatic playoff berth from the league. Glendale improved to 6-7-1 in league for 19 points, one more than Arcadia.

BURBANK - With the Glendale High and Pasadena girls' water polo teams having already locked up playoff spots, each squad had a final opportunity to prepare for the postseason when they met Thursday afternoon in the third-place game of the Pacific League Tournament. Glendale looked to build on establishing more of a defensive presence, while Pasadena sought to work on consistency in its overall game. Glendale wrapped up third place in league with a 7-4 victory against Pasadena at Burbank High.

BURBANK - From the moment the members of the Crescenta Valley High girls' water polo team take to the pool deck before the start of the season, they are given a reminder. With expectations already high before the message is sent to the players, there's the matter of first continuing to keep the most recent tradition alive in the form of winning a Pacific League championship. Crescenta Valley kept the streak in tact, as it received three goals from Shannon Hovanesian to post a 14-1 victory against Burroughs on Thursday night in the league's tournament championship match at Burbank High to clinch the title outright.

BURBANK - Defense was at the forefront, offense was borderline nonexistent and goaltending was on center stage. And it was Burroughs High goalie Ahsha Earwood who shined brightest, as the Indians netminder nabbed 18 saves to lead the Burroughs girls' water polo team past Glendale, 5-2, on Tuesday at Burbank High in the Pacific League Tournament semifinals. "It was very similar to the first time we played," said Nitros Coach Forrest Holbrook, whose team lost to the Indians, 8-6, previously with Earwood making 15 saves.

BURBANK - Emblematic of the dominance put forth through its undefeated Pacific League run, the Crescenta Valley High girls' water polo team wasted no time in flexing its might at the onset of the Pacific League Tournament. The Falcons, ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division V, ran off 10 first-quarter goals, converting on 10 of 11 shots and allowing just one shot in return as they never looked back in a 17-4 throttling of Pasadena in the tournament semifinals on Tuesday at Burbank High.

PASADENA - In what could easily have been a prequel to a matchup in the upcoming CIF-Southern Section Division V girls' water polo playoffs, Redlands East Valley took on Crescenta Valley at high noon Saturday in the pool at Pasadena City College. Both teams clearly viewed the nonleague contest with an eye to the upcoming Division V playoffs, or the “real season,” as CV Coach Brent Danna put it, because, if the rankings and the yet-to-be-released brackets hold, the top-ranked Falcons will be matching up with the No. 4-ranked Wildcats again, but this time with a berth in the finals on the line.

PASADENA - An exclamation of “that's beautiful water polo” rang out from the Crescenta Valley High girls' water polo team's bench late in the second quarter of a CIF Southern Section showdown against La Serna Friday. It was the first of several compliments Falcons Coach Brent Danna shouted to his team in the middle of the game - a 15-3 blowout in his team's favor - at Pasadena City College. “I was actually looking for a reason to get mad at the girls today,” Danna said.