Westlake

Charles Rich FRIEDMAN FIELD -- They weren't about to be doomed for a second consecutive day by a shot of the post or an opposing goalkeeper making a crucial save in the waning moments. The St. Francis High boys' soccer team was dealt its lesson in humility Thursday by crosstown rival Crescenta Valley High, dropping a 1-0 decision in a pool-play game of the Brandt/Burroughs Tournament despite unleashing 27 shots on goal. The Golden Knights learned from their sufferings Friday as they scored three second-half goals in 12 minutes to post a 3-0 victory over Westlake High in another tournament pool-play match at Friedman Field.

LOS ANGELES — There’s something about the Ralph Brandt Tournament that brings out the best in the St. Francis High boys’ soccer team. The Golden Knights flourished in last year’s tournament, winning it all for the third time in seven years. They’re prospering this year, as well, evident with another trip to the championship. St. Francis reached the final with a 2-1 victory against Westlake on Saturday at Occidental College’s Patterson Field.

Charles Rich NORTHWEST GLENDALE -- He's begun the wait for the seeds to germinate. It's been a lengthy process for first-year Hoover High girls' water polo Coach Scott Finney, who planted the roots at practice in November and now patiently awaits for Hoover to crack the win column. Finney will have to wait longer after Hoover dropped a 13-2 nonleague decision to visiting Westlake on Monday. Hoover (0-8) concluded the nonleague portion of its schedule Monday and the climb will get tougher for the Tornadoes when they begin Pacific League competition against visiting Muir on Wednesday.

Charles Rich BURBANK -- Hoover High girls' basketball Coach Jack Van Patten spoke more like the president of a struggling major corporation. Van Patten's sagging team hasn't generated many positive results during a losing skid that's spanned more than two weeks. Hoover dropped its seventh consecutive game with a 52-43 loss to Westlake in a pool-play game of the 20th annual Burroughs/Magnolia Park Optimist Club 2001 Holiday Tournament at Burroughs High on Friday.

BURBANK — If there was a theme for the Glendale High girls' basketball team's loss to Westlake on Tuesday evening in the Bellarmine-Jefferson Tournament, it would be inconsistency. The Nitros forced the Warriors into 18 turnovers, 11 coming via steals, but could not prevent Westlake from collecting key offensive rebounds and getting easy second-chance points. They put seven quick points on the board during a last-ditch effort to keep Westlake from running away with the game, but suffered long offensive droughts when a slim lead was theirs to protect.

GIRLS' WATER POLO Crescenta Valley 7, Harvard-Westlake 3: Elissa Arnold and Shannon Hovanesian each scored three goals to lead the Falcons to a win in the championship game of the Mistletoe Classic on Saturday. Crescenta Valley, ranked fifth in CIF Southern Section Division 5, also got six saves from Gabriel Isacson and lockdown defense against the Division 3 top-ranked Wolverines' two-meter player from Ashley Taylor. Earlier Saturday the Falcons bested Westlake in the semifinals, 9-8, behind four goals from Hovanesian and three goals and three assists from Breanna Lawton.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan GLENDALE -- o7 Odds and ends from the local high school softball scene:f7 Adding to an already long list: The list of accomplishments in her remarkable four-year varsity career continue to grow. La Canada High senior softball pitcher Kelly Kalish (9-1-1) added another milestone Saturday in the Gold Bracket championship game of the San Fernando Valley Victory Spring Classic. Kalish, who was the tournament's most valuable player, had four strikeouts in a 3-1 victory against Westlake as La Canada (10-3-1)

LA CRESCENTA ? Apparently, the Crescenta Valley High boys? water polo team had no problem getting pumped up for the opening of the 2008 Falcon Water Polo Tournament. While several members of the team have remained active in club polo, Friday?s opening round at Crescenta Valley was the first time this summer that the Falcons have taken to the pool together for live games. They responded to the occasion by blazing their way to an 18-1 thumping of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame followed by 12-4 victory over Westlake.

Mirjam Swanson MONTROSE -- For the seven seniors on the Crescenta Valley High softball team, Friday's 2-0 loss was an abrupt, tearful end to what several labeled their favorite season. The Falcons rolled into Pacific League play with a 15-3 mark, then continued their ownership of the league, going 10-0, bringing the program's league winning streak to 50, and enjoying one another's company throughout. It was an impressive regular season. It led to a painfully abbreviated postseason.

GLENDALE — After a great start for the host team on Friday in the 2008 Falcon Water Polo Tournament, things only got better for the Crescenta Valley High boys’ water polo team over the weekend. The Falcons finished the three day tournament undefeated in six matches and captured the championship with a 9-1 defeat of Westlake on Sunday afternoon. “What I like about rematches is that you can make adjustments,” said Falcons Coach Jan Sakonju, whose team beat Westlake, 11-4, on Friday, “and I think that’s a crucial thing that players learn — how to analyze a team that you played before and come back with a new game plan.

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.

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.

LA CANADA - Brimming with emotion and anticipation heading into its pivotal Mission League match Friday night, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy's soccer team got the swift start it needed. But it was the resiliency displayed by the Tologs that carried them to their biggest victory of the season. Led by a goal and an assist each from Savannah Viola and Hailey James and a game-winning score from Sarah Teegarden, the Tologs upended archrival Harvard-Westlake, 3-2, at St. Francis High to stay in the hunt for a league crown.

LA CRESCENTA - Not all losses are created equal or at least that was the outlook Crescenta Valley High boys' basketball Coach Shawn Zargarian took after his team fell to Westlake, 86-78, in the third-place game of the Falcon Classic on Friday. Even though the Falcons suffered their second loss in a row, their resilience and energy in battling back from a huge early deficit to get withing four points late was a bit of a victory in itself. “Flat out energy and effort,” Zargarian said when asked about the difference between Friday's loss and Thursday night's 58-55 loss to Kennedy in which the Falcons squandered a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.

GIRLS' WATER POLO Crescenta Valley 7, Harvard-Westlake 3: Elissa Arnold and Shannon Hovanesian each scored three goals to lead the Falcons to a win in the championship game of the Mistletoe Classic on Saturday. Crescenta Valley, ranked fifth in CIF Southern Section Division 5, also got six saves from Gabriel Isacson and lockdown defense against the Division 3 top-ranked Wolverines' two-meter player from Ashley Taylor. Earlier Saturday the Falcons bested Westlake in the semifinals, 9-8, behind four goals from Hovanesian and three goals and three assists from Breanna Lawton.

GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL Harvard-Westlake 3, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy 0 : The Tologs fell to the archrival Wolverines in straight games for the second time this season in Thursday night's 25-19, 25-15, 25-19 Mission League road loss. “I think it was more of the inexperience of playing in a harsh environment and just trying to climb over that ledge right there where you see what's going on and you understand what's going on, but then it's putting all of that into actually playing volleyball,” said first-year Sacred Heart Coach Ernest Banaag, whose team slipped to 10-11 and 4-3 in league.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD - Trailing by 26 points with less than 11 minutes remaining, the St. Francis High football team finally got back on track. A couple of recovered onside kicks led to two touchdowns. And the Golden Knights had one last chance to complete a miraculous comeback, but saw their bid fall short in the closing seconds. “It was a valiant effort and they fought to the end,” said St. Francis Coach Jim Bonds, whose team suffered a 41-36 road Mission League loss against Harvard-Westlake on Friday night.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - There isn't a sense of panic surrounding the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team. Not after splitting its first two Mission League matches. However, Flintridge Sacred Heart first-year Coach Ernest Banaag said there might be some tinkering with the lineup. “Right now, we are inexperienced,” Banaag said after Harvard-Westlake recorded a 25-17, 25-7, 25-13 against host Flintridge Sacred Heart on Tuesday night. “You can sit hear and nitpick, yell and scream, but we will get back at it and make some adjustments.

LOS ANGELES - With two of its top swimmers on the opposite coast Thursday, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy swimming and diving team had trouble when it came to matching Harvard-Westlake's star power. The Tologs' ensemble cast stole the show, however, picking up a 99-77 Mission League win at Loyola High that was built more on solid depth than outright dominance. "We definitely have a variety of specialty swimmers and even if we can't touch first in all of them, we can go second, third and fourth and that really helps us do the best we can do," said Sacred Heart junior Emily Balog, who won the 100-yard butterfly in 1 minute, 1.72 seconds and the 100 breaststroke in 1:10.72.