LJ g water polo: Stats

By Ed Piper

Karli Canale, a junior powerhouse for the La Jolla water polo team (23-4) that takes a number-one seed into the Open Division playoffs Sat., Feb. 20 against eighth-ranked El Camino, has been putting up some incredible numbers this season.

Through the Vikings' 27 games in the regular season, Canale, who shoots from the two position to the left of the goal, has 80 goals, by far the most by any player on her team. But along with her offensive potency, Karli leads her team in steals with 48 in a tie with teammate and fellow junior Sydney Boland.

This is a remarkable pair of skills she's carrying. One can understand her high number of assists, 22, since she handles the ball a lot on offense. But goals and steals are not an automatic combination.

Plus Canale is very efficient with her shots, scoring on 49 percent of her 164 attempts, the latter which are far more than any other Viking. The nearest is two-meter Ciara Franke, yet another talented junior, with 127 attempts and almost as high a success ratio at 48 percent for the Western League second-place finishers.

Franke has 61 goals (second on the team to Canale) and 37 steals (fourth on the team).

In addition, Karli doesn't turn the ball over much: 14 times all season, which is quite low among the regulars. Some have almost twice as many turnovers as Canale--Lexi Atwell and Franke, with 25 each.

Now, pointing out these impressive numbers goes against the grain of the traditional culture in water polo, which fights to hide individual statistics. There is an ethos of anti-bragging, which can be great for team spirit.

But these stats are notable. Canale, Franke, and Boland aren't the only Vikings on a stellar top-ranked squad this year with standout numbers. The aforementioned Atwell, a senior, owns 43 steals (third on the team), 24 assists (second), and 28 drawn ejections (first).

Senior Claire Andrews leads the Vikings in assists with 36, far and away the highest total. She also has 23 steals (fifth).

Boland, tied for the team lead in steals, also has 42 goals (third), and 14 assists (tied for fourth).

Kira Bruno, a senior, shows 28 goals, 14 assists, and 20 steals during the regular season.

Utility player Nicole Bertrand has 12 steals and 10 assists.

La Jolla, as a team, has outscored opponents 303 to 147. The first three quarters, when games were still in the balance, show the Vikings outscoring their opponents by whopping margins: 89-42, 80-34, and 71-32 in the first, second, and third quarters, respectively.

Their team shooting percentage is 44 percent. That's probably pretty darn good in comparison to other teams.

Goalies Bennett Bugelli and Summer Broekema have made 133 and 71 saves, respectively. Bugelli has given up 88 goals, Broekema 59. Those numbers figure out to Bugelli allowing opponents to shoot only 40 percent when she is in goal, Broekema 45 percent.