By Rick Assad
A relatively slow start turned into a rather quick ending for the Burroughs High girls’ water polo team in a nonleague match against visiting Flintridge Prep on a rainy and dreary Thursday afternoon.
After falling behind 4-3 in the opening frame the Bears outscored the Wolves 14-4 over the final three frames and with that boost of energy eased into a 17-8 victory behind a match-high five goals from senior Derika Berenguer, who tallied three goals in the opening half.
Right behind were senior Lauren Chaparro and Gwen Hager with three goals each for the Bears (1-1).
Burroughs lost a close match versus host Notre Dame and fell 11-7 but Martin Ortega Jennison, the Burroughs head coach, liked what he saw and hoped it would have a carry-over effect which it likely did.
“We played well against a really good team,” he said prior to Thursday’s match with the Wolves. “We only lost by four points.”
Burroughs, which outshot Flintridge Prep, 36-17, led 9-5 at halftime and powered in front 14-7 after three frames.
The Bears came out and scored the first three goals of the first period as senior Bonnie Kreztmann’s tally with 6:44 left in the first period made it 1-0, senior Chapparo’s bullet with 6:22 remaining made it 2-1 and Chapparo’s score with 5:11 increased the margin to 3-2.
Following a similar pattern, Burroughs scored the first three goals of the second frame as Kretzmann’s goal with 6:38 remaining tied it at 4-4 before Chapparo’s tally with 5:42 left made it 5-4.
Berenguer’s goal with 4:01 left on the clock made it 6-4 and Berenguer’s tally with 1:27 left made it 7-5. Hager added a goal with 1:05 on the ticker for an 8-5 cushion.
Bella Matossian chimed in with a goal as eighteen seconds were left before intermission as the Bears enjoyed a four-goal advantage.
Burroughs outscored the Wolves 5-2 in the third quarter and saw goals from Leah Hess with 6:05 left for a 10-5 lead, Hager’s tally with 4:51 remaining on the clock made it 11-6 in favor of the Bears.
Berenguer’s shot with 3:55 left pushed it to a 12-6 lead and in short order Berenguer added a goal as 1:14 remained for a 13-7 lead. Hess accounted for a goal with thirty-one seconds left for a 14-7 lead.
Burroughs scored the first three goals of the fourth quarter as Matossian’s tally with 6:32 made it 15-7 and Hager’s attempt increased the cushion to 16-7 as 5:41 remained. Kretzmann’s goal with 5:01 capped off the scoring for the Bears as the lead swelled to 17-7.
Zoe Durry paced the Wolves (1-3) with three tallies and they came with 6:35 left in the initial frame that tied it at 1-1.
Durry’s goal with 3:40 left in the same period handed Flintridge Prep a 4-3 lead and Durry’s tally with 5:47 remaining in the third period sliced the deficit to 10-6.
Julieanne Kinne had two goals for the Wolves as she found the net with 5:34 left in the first period that leveled it at 2-2 and tacked on a goal with eleven seconds left in the match that sliced the lead to nine goals.
Sarah Bank, Savannah Beattie and Sienna Beltz all scored one goal for the Wolves.
