It was the start of girls’ water polo play in the Rio Hondo League for both La Cañada and San Marino High as a young and largely inexperienced Titans squad visited the veteran and established Spartans team.
Flexing their muscles early, the host Spartans overwhelmed visiting San Marino for a 21-0 win in the league opener for both programs on Dec. 12.
“These kids are all returners,” La Cañada coach Gil Millanes said. “I’ve had them since they were, obviously, freshmen, and they’ve grown. They’ve put in the work during the summer. You can tell; the way they are moving the ball, their condition, the way they’re getting over their hips. … We’re finally getting back to where we were last year, so we’re looking for that title again.”
It was the first time La Cañada had posted a shutout this season and the first time San Marino was held scoreless.
“I saw some improvement, but then [La Cañada is] just a better team,” San Marino coach Mark Barr said. “There was a little more chemistry than our last game. We drew three ejections today, which we haven’t in the past, so that tells me we’re moving in the right direction, but we still have a long, long way to go.”
The Spartans had eight different players score, and each had at least two goals. Sofia Korshakovsky led the way with a game-high four goals, including three of her team’s four goals in the second period. Emma Hayashi, Kiley Ku and Lorelei Rocca each scored three goals. Rocca also had a game-high five steals. Kadyn Day, Supriya Uniyal, Yasmine Martinez and Lilly Perner scored two apiece.
Four players rotated as goalkeeper for La Cañada. Spartan Didi Reifsnyder-Smith started at goalkeeper before moving further up the pool. She was replaced by Day in the second quarter, and Ku came in as goalkeeper in the third quarter. Perner minded the cage in the fourth and final frame.
“Honestly, it’s a really good start,” said Reifsnyder-Smith of the league-opening win. “I know we had some difficulty in the [nonleague] season, so this is a really good way to start [league] and I’m looking forward to the rest of it.”
The hosts went out to a 10-0 advantage after the opening quarter, with most of the goals coming from close range as the San Marino defense struggled to stay between the Spartans and the goal.
It started with a goal 43 seconds in by Rocca off an assist by Alexis Calix. Just 34 seconds later Day scored, assisted by Perner. Perner was next to score, putting it in from a tight angle on the left with 5:00 to go. Rocca then scored again from close range after swimming nearly the length of the pool with the ball. Ku was next, assisted by Day, with 4:07 left. Day scored her second goal, tipping the ball in after an initial save to make it 6-0 with 3:28 left.
La Cañada then went on to score four more times in the final 2:48 of the opening period, with all the goals coming from close range. The first two were put in by Hayashi, followed by Ku’s second of the quarter and, finally, Perner’s second of the frame with 12 seconds left to give her team a double-digit cushion going into the second period.
Ku won the opening sprint of the second quarter and scored 15 seconds later. Korshakovsky scored the next two in a 36-second span for a 13-0 lead with 5:17 left before halftime. With 2:23 left in the half, San Marino had its best chance to score when Olivia Deng drew a foul and earned her team a 5-meter penalty shot. Kaitlyn Pletting took the shot, but it was saved. Korshakovsky scored the final goal of the half off an assist from Perner with 2:08 left. San Marino was awarded another 5-meter shot after that, but Deng could not convert.
Korshakovsky opened the scoring in the third quarter with a goal 24 seconds in. Hayashi, Rocca and Uniyal each scored from close range to push the Spartans lead to 18-0 with 3:05 left. Uniyal scored again, this time on a lob. Martinez scored once more with four seconds left to make it 20-0 going into the final period.
La Cañada won the opening sprint of the fourth and turned that into a goal by Martinez, who capped the scoring with 6:40 to play.
AYALA TOURNAMENT
The La Cañada High School varsity girls’ water polo team competed in the Ayala Tournament on Dec. 8 and 9, finishing with a 2-2 record.
The Spartans posted a pair of victories against Chino Hills, 13-7, and La Habra, 12-9, but suffered losses against El Dorado High of Placentia, 8-1, and Los Osos, 12-11. Individual statistics were not reported to the Outlook Valley Sun.
LCHS secured a 17-10 nonleague victory over visiting Pasadena Polytechnic on Dec. 7.
Kiley Ku registered five goals and one steal, while Alexis Calix and Lorelei Rocca each finished with four goals and one steal. Kadyn Day scored two goals, Annalina Fogarty tallied two steals and one goal, Sofia Korshakovsky recorded one goal, and Supriya Uniyal had one steal.
The Spartans picked up a 9-7 nonleague victory at Glendale on Dec. 6, as Day racked up six goals. Korshakovsky two goals, while Ku one goal.
La Cañada (5-4 overall, 1-0 in league) will visit Blair High in Pasadena for a Rio Hondo League game on Dec. 14 before visiting San Juan Hills High in San Juan Capistrano on Jan. 6.
FLINTRIDGE PREP
The Wolves lost to visiting Pasadena Polytechnic 13-11 in their Prep League opener on Dec. 6. Individual statistics were not reported to the Outlook Valley Sun.
Flintridge Prep (3-2 overall, 0-1 in league) will visit Mayfield Senior of Pasadena for a league game on Jan. 9 at 5:15 p.m. before visiting La Salle College Preparatory on Jan. 11.
FLINTRIDGE SACRED HEART
The Tologs posted a pair of nonleague victories against Mayfield Senior of Pasadena, 18-5, and Burroughs High of Burbank, 13-7. Individual statistics were not reported to the Outlook Valley Sun.
FSHA (8-2) will open Mission League action at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on Jan. 4 at 4 p.m. before visiting Marlborough High in Los Angeles on Jan. 9.
— Sebastian Moore contributed to this report.
First published in the December 14 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
