Jan. 22--LA CRESCENTA -- With plenty of offensive options at hand for the Crescenta Valley High girls' water polo team, it's tough for opponents to stack up on defense.
Crescenta Valley showcased that balance as it received hat tricks from Alexandra Garas, Esma Dollaku and Kaitlyn Moguel to post a 17-5 Pacific League home victory against Glendale on Thursday.
The Falcons (11-1, 4-0 in league) saw Garas finish with a match-high seven goals. Crecenta Valley, ranked fifth in CIF Southern Section Division IV, got four goals from Dollaku and three from Moguel.
"That's the thing with our offense in that we continue to work on it," said second-year Crescenta Valley Coach Ricky Mulcahey, who guided the Falcons to the league championship last season. "It's about getting them to play well together and they know when to take the shot or pass it to another teammate for a goal.
"We definitely have a lot of options out there. We have so many dynamic scorers and that makes it harder for the other team a lot of times."
Crescenta Valley sent Glendale (9-11, 2-2) to its second consecutive league defeat. The Falcons held a 6-1 lead after the first quarter, getting two goals apiece from Garas and Dollaku.
Garas, a freshman utility, scored to make it 9-2 with 4:34 left in the second quarter. She then scored two more goals in a 25-second span to extend the advantage to 11-2.
"I think it's all about being able to communicate well," Garas said. "In my opinion, our offense is really good.
"We have a lot of players who can attack and score. We know where to get open and who to get the ball to. You have to play good defense first and then the goals will come."
Dollaku scored with 5:06 remaining in the second quarter to make it 8-1. Moguel netted her third goal to give the Falcons a 12-3 lead with 5:58 to go in the third quarter.
Crescenta Valley also received two goals from UC Davis-bound Audrey Taylor, the reigning All-Area Girls' Water Polo Player of the Year, and one from Brynn Fernandez.
Glendale, which looked to regroup following an 11-2 league defeat against Burroughs on Tuesday, received three goals from Lori Berberian and one each from Stephanie Carrilo and Mondanna Nassirpour.
"I think our defense was more alert, though the score didn't reflect it," second-year Glendale Coach Casey Sripramong said. "It's a great learning experience and you see how we can react to different situations.
"[Crescenta Valley] is stronger on counter-attacks. I thought we did well in six-on-six situations. We just have to keep working at it and try to get better."
