Water Polo Game Summaries

The North Allegheny water polo team hosted the McDowell Trojans on Tuesday and came away with a doubleheader split. The NA boys’ team earned a dominant 20-8 victory, while the NA girls’ team fell by a 14-7 decision.

The boys’ contest started the festivities, and the Tigers wasted little time as junior Max LaFuria converted a steal into a goal just 15 seconds into the game for an immediate 1-0 lead.  The opening seconds set the tone for the contest as NA grabbed a 13-5 lead by halftime and coasted in the second half for a 20-8 victory. Junior co-captain Filip Malezanov paced the NA onslaught with a nine-goal performance to garner Wright Automotive Player of the Game honors.

Senior co-captain Bryce Miller was outstanding on defense and also tallied four goals, while LaFuria and Stephen Somple each scored a pair. Other NA goal scorers included Chace Li, Stephen Somple and Luke Maxwell to round out the victory. Sophomore goalie Gannon Brooks got the start and played three strong quarters before giving way to freshman Patrick Snyder in the final stanza.

For McDowell, Brody Caldwell led the visitors with a hat trick.

In the nightcap, the NA Girls trailed 3-1 after three quarters before back-to-back goals by Margarita Tokareva and Selin Emekter tied the score at 3-3 with 5:04 remaining in the second quarter. Tokareva finished the night with a pair of markers, earning her Wright Automotive Player of the Game laurels.

Despite NA’s first-half momentum, McDowell regained control and rattled off seven consecutive goals to take a 10-3 lead by the early stages of the fourth quarter. Seniors Lilly Ulzii and Makenzie Elias led the charge with seven and six goals, respectively, as the Trojans rolled to a 14-7 win.

Along with Tokareva, Emekter also totaled two goals. Down the stretch in the fourth quarter, junior Siya Bhonsale provided some impressive minutes for the younger Tigers with a hat trick.

Following Tuesday’s night’s action, the NA boys’ improve to 4-6 on the season, while the NA girls’ fall to 1-8. The Tigers return to the pool next week at McDowell on Tuesday, October 5.

The North Allegheny water polo teams traveled to eastern Pennsylvania to take part in the Beast of the East Tournament. The NA boys split their four matches going 2-2 while the girls dropped their four matches.

Boys

The boys opened up against Upper Dublin on Friday, defeating them 16-10. Filip Malezanov had nine goals to go along with five steals. Bryce Miller had three goals, two assists and three steals while Noah Cochrane and Max LaFuria each scored twice. Luke Maxwell had two assists and Chace Li dished out three helpers. Gannon Brooks made 12 saves.

The Tigers fell in their second matchup to Upper Arlington, 11-1. Malezanov scored the lone goal and had two steals. LaFuria had three steals. Brooks made seven saves in net.

The NA boys stayed at Upper Dublin for their Saturday competition and took on Episcopal Academy to start the day. The Tigers dropped a 14-13 overtime thriller. Malezanov had six goals and five steals. Cochrane and Stephan Somple each had three goals. Cochrane also had two assists. Li scored a goal while Miller had four helpers and four steals. Brooks made 11 saves in net.

The boys finished the weekend with a battle against Brunswick B. In a very low scoring affair, North Allegheny came away with a 4-2 grind it out victory. Malezanov had two goals and three steals. Li and Smith added the other two goals. Cochrane and Miller each had three steals. Brooks made 12 saves.

Girls

The girls also opened play against Upper Dublin. North Allegheny fell by a score of 14-6. Vania Rathee had two goals and six assists. Selin Emekter, Siya Bhonsale, Lila Sonaer and Margarita Tokareva all found the back of the net. Bhonsale had three assists and two steals. Myra Anand made five saves in net.

Upper Arlington was next on the schedule for the NA girls where the Tigers lost 10-2. Sonaer and Tokareva each scored. Emekter and Rathee each had two steals. Anand made three saves.

The NA girls took on Springfield at Governor Mifflin to begin Saturday competition falling 11-4. Sonaer had a hat trick while Emekter had a goal and two assists. Bhonsale dished out two assists.

The weekend finish with the girls battling Lawrenceville, who upended them by a score of 16-8. Bhonsale had three goals and two steals. Emekter added two more goals to go along with four steals while Tokareva also had two goals with three steals. Rathee found the back of the net and had three steals. Anand made seven saves.

Coming up

The North Allegheny boys record is now 3-6 overall. The NA girls are now 1-7. Both teams will be back in action on Tuesday when they host McDowell at the NASH pool. These matches will be broadcast on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

North Allegheny Water Polo traveled to Cathedral Prep to take part in the Calvin Behm Tournament on Friday and Saturday. The boys’ team took part in a match on Friday and two on Saturday, while the girls’ team had two contests on Saturday.

On Friday, the boys faced LaSalle and fell by a final score of 18-9. Junior Filip Malezanov led the way for the Tigers with six goals, while sophomore Chace Li, freshman Stephen Somple and senior Bryce Miller also scored a goal each. Junior Max LaFuria led the team with three steals. Sophomore Gannon Brooks had six saves in net and two steals.

On Saturday morning, NA took on North Penn and lost 14-4. Malezanov again led the Tigers with a hat trick. Li also scored again. Brooks made 12 total saves in the contest. Later in the day, North Allegheny faced Wilson in what would turn out to be the closest game of the weekend, falling by a score of 10-8. Malezanov provided most of the scoring with six more goals. Miller had the other two markers in the contest. Freshman Corbin Smith led the Tigers with three assists. Brooks made 10 saves.

Both girls’ matches took place Saturday, starting with a 12-1 loss to Wilson. Senior Lila Sonaer scored the lone goal for the Tigers. Sophomore Vania Rathee had the lone assist. Senior Sania Bedi had two steals. NA also played North Penn and fell 16-2. Sonaer scored both markers in the contest for the Tigers and Rathee had an assist. Bedi and Siya Bhonsale each had a steal. Sophomore Myra Anand had a save in net.

NA Water Polo is back in action next weekend as a part of the Beast of the East Tournament.

The North Allegheny boys water polo team traveled north to Erie, PA to take on the Cathedral Prep Ramblers. The Tigers posted their first win of the season defeating Cathedral Prep by a score of 16-10.

Filip Malezanov tallied eight goals for NA to go along with seven steals. Corbin Smith added four goals. Noah Cochran, Chace Li and Bryce Miller all found the back of the net. Cochrane had three steals while Luke Maxwell and Miller had two. Gannon Brooks made five saves in net while Patrick Snyder had two.

North Allegheny improves to 1-1 on the season. The Tigers return to action this weekend when they return to Erie to take part in the Calvin Behm Memorial Tournament.

North Allegheny hosted the Tiger Classic on Saturday at the NASH Pool. The NA girls posted a 1-1 record while the boys dropped their opening match of the season.

The girls started the day taking on Reading, who they defeated 10-8. Margarita Tokareva had five goals for the Tigers while Vania Rathee had three goals and three assists. Sania Bedi had four steals along with a goal and an assist. Selin Emekter and Siya Bhonsale each had two steals. Emekter also had a goal and assist. Myra Anand made two saves.

In the second match, NA fell to Cumberland Valley by a score of 13-3. Karuna Ghuman, Emekter and Rathee had the tallies for North Allegheny. Lila Sonaer had two steals. Anand made three saves.

The North Allegheny boys played one match and fell in a tightly battled contest to Cumberland Valley, 15-12. Filip Malezanov had five goals to go along with three assists. Bryce Miller added four goals, four assists and two steals. Corbin Smith had two goals and two assists in his varsity debut. Gannon Brooks made eight saves in net.

The NA girls start the year at 1-1. The boys fall to 0-1. The boys return to action on Tuesday when they head north to take on Cathedral Prep at 5 p.m. before both teams spend the weekend in Erie at the Calvin Behm Memorial Tournament.