Agoura girls’ water polo team continues to steamroll its opponents

SHOW STOPPER—Agoura goalie Sara Gralitzer, with a little help from her teammate, Casey Flacks, makes a save on a shot attempt by Westlake Tuesday afternoon. Agoura won the match, 18-8, to push its overall record to 9-2, 4-0 in league. Westlake’s ecord now stands at 7-7 overall and 0-4 in the Marmonte League. Both schools will be back in action this afternoon at 3:15 p.m. Game after game, the Agoura Chargers continue to prove they are well deserving of the No. 1 ranking in CIF Division IV girls’ water polo.

Consider Agoura’s last three contests—matchups against Moorpark, Calabasas and Westlake.

During that stretch, the Chargers have outscored their opponents, 59-11.

“We’ve been playing really well,” junior goalie Sara Gralitzer said. “We’ve played in some really big games this year, and we’re going to keep playing in them and keep getting better and better.”

With several players out sick, Tuesday’s 18-8 win over Westlake was Agoura’s stiffest challenge during the past week, AHS head coach Jason Rosenthal said.

“I thought we did pretty well,” Rosenthal said. “I started a different group today and they played well in the first half. We just kind of started to get on a roll, and when we get on a roll, it’s pretty tough to stop us.”

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers ONE MORE SHOT ON GOAL—Charger junior Alana Altmann looks for an open shot over Westlake’s Cassie Briers during Tuesday afternoon’s 18-8 Agoura victory at Westlake High. Behind three first-half goals from junior Natalie Todak, Westlake was within striking distance at halftime.

“At halftime we were (down), 10-5, and I thought that was a moral victory for our kids, for our program,” WHS head coach Mark Garrett said.

“In the second half, I let some kids play and get that experience,” Garrett said. “I felt good about it.”

Agoura scored the first three goals of the third period to push its lead to 13-5.

Todak’s fourth goal of the afternoon broke an eight-minute, 24-second scoring drought for the Warriors and made the game, 136, in favor of the Chargers.

For much of the second half, Westlake found it tough to get the ball past Gralitzer, who made several spectacular saves throughout the afternoon, including stopping a pair of Westlake penalty shots.

“Their goalie is one of the top goalies in the country right now,” Garrett said. “We really respect her.”

Todak finished with five goals for Westlake, while her teammate, senior Emily Oettinger, scored twice.

“We started off not so hot, but then we started getting momentum once we realized that we could stay in the running,” Todak said. “When we play Agoura, we just want to keep the scoring difference low because they’re probably the best team in the league,” Todak said. “But I think we got better by the fourth quarter.”

Todak added that the Chargers perform well because they’re “really physical.”

Agoura got scoring contributions from eight different players, including five goals from Jillian Waldron and three goals apiece from Casey Flacks and Carly Clark.

The win pushed Agoura’s overall record to 9-2, with a 4-0 mark in the Marmonte.

Westlake saw its record fall to 7-7, 0-4 in league.

Both teams are back in action today at 3:15 p.m., with Agoura taking on Thousand Oaks at home in a matchup that could have potential league title implications.

“I doubt we’re going to score 15 to 20 goals against T.O.,” Rosenthal said. “They’re a more experienced team with all seniors. They been around and have played games like us. It’ll be a much tougher thing.”

Westlake, meanwhile, will look to lock up its first Marmonte win on the road at Calabasas.

Garrett said despite his team’s slow start in league play, if the Warriors can right the ship, they should have a decent shot at the league’s No. 4-seed and an automatic playoff berth.

The top four finishers in the Marmonte will qualify for the postseason this year.

“We need a little help now,” Garrett said. “We need to beat (Newbury Park) and we’ll put a spotlight on that game when we play them again. It’s important that we split with them.”