First published in the Oct. 14 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
The La Cañada, High School boys’ varsity water polo team (8-8 overall, 1-2 in league) was defeated by visiting South Pasadena, 19-11, in a Rio Hondo League matchup last Thursday afternoon.
The Tigers remained undefeated in league play at 3-0 and moved to 10-8 overall. LCHS fell to 1-2 in league and 8-8 overall.
After a fairly close first half, the Spartans were outscored 8-2 in the third quarter as South Pasadena built a comfortable 17-7 lead.
To open the game, La Cañada’s Miles Peters (two goals) and Lucas Quion (one goal) helped the Spartans trail by only a 4-3 margin after the first quarter.
La Cañada’s Jack Clark started the second quarter with a goal to tie the match, 4-4, before South Pasadena responded with three consecutive goals.
La Cañada’s Aleksnader Nowaczeck scored the Spartans’ final goal of the first half with 2:38 to play. Still, South Pas built its lead to 9-5 at intermission, setting the stage for the lopsided third quarter.
LCHS outscored South Pasadena in the final quarter, with three goals from Clark and one from Nowaczeck.
Despite the loss, Clark finished with a team-high six goals while Peters and Nowaczeck each added two.
“We scored 11 goals, which is pretty good, … and in the first quarter, defensively, we were able to hold them to four goals,” said Gil Millanes, La Cañada’s head coach.
The Spartans hosted Monrovia High (3-10 overall, 1-4 in league) on Tuesday, Oct. 19. The result will be included in next week’s issue.
