The third quarter has been a make-or-break one for the Los Altos girls water polo team this season, and Saturday’s performance after the half made it the CCS Division I champion.
Up 5-3 at halftime after a lackluster first half, No. 1 seed Eagles came out firing after the break, going on a 5-0 run in the third quarter thanks to three goals from Sophia Boschken and a suffocating defense that forced turnovers and bad passes en route to a 14-7 title win over No. 2 seed Valley Christian.
“We call that our statement quarter because that’s typically when teams are a little bit tired,” Los Altos coach Katie Tasman said. “The mental side starts to come into play a little bit more. We really wanted to focus on coming out strong on defense, making sure we were pressing them and fueling our counter. Getting those couple of goals right away helped settle us.”
Boschken came out ready in the second half, scoring just a minute and a half into the third quarter, adding two goals at the end of the quarter. Boschken, one of the team’s main attacking forces this season, said her coaches at halftime were telling her to lock in with the game close.
“If I got the opportunity to score and someone was not on me, and I was not pressed, I would rip it,” Boschken said of the second half.
Boschken finished with a team-leading six goals, scoring five in the second half and one in the first.
“She is someone that every team that she plays knows, and they always have her number and make sure that they are double-teaming her, but she finds ways to get open,” Tasman said of Boschken. “She’s very creative and crafty in there, so her being able to use her counterattack and speed and get down there.”
The fourth quarter was about managing the clock with a 10-3 lead, with everyone on the team getting opportunities to play, and both teams each scoring four goals. Sophomore Kylie Barkovich finished with four goals, while Maria Selikhanovich, Annie Aliashvili, Zoey Shan and Kylie Parman all got on the scoresheet.
“I think once you get your momentum in the third quarter, you can make the fourth quarter easier,” Boschken said. “It was great playing that third quarter together.”
Tasman noted that increasing the defense intensity was the focus in the third quarter after a close first half.
“They came out ready to go and put us on our toes,” Tasman said. “We didn’t come out as defensively strong as we wanted to, but with those couple of adjustments, we were able to turn it around.”
The CCS Division I title this year helps ease the sting of last year’s loss in the Division I final against Leigh, 9-8. No. 1 seed Los Altos got its revenge this year when it played No. 5 seed Leigh in the semifinals Thursday, a 10-5 win that built confidence and momentum heading into the final on the Sacred Heart Prep campus.
“The girls have busted their butts all season long,” Tasman said of winning the title. “They absolutely earned that and deserved that.”
Valley Christian finishes the season 15-12. Los Altos (23-6) now moves on to the CIF NorCal water polo playoffs as the No. 3 seed. Los Altos hosts No. 6 seed Amador Valley Tuesday at 5 p.m.
