GIRLS' WATER POLO: LOUISVILLE PUTS WALNUT AWAY EARLY, ADVANCES LOUISVILLE 11, WALNUT 6.

Byline: Nathan Brown Staff Writer

Louisville girls' water polo coach Andy Walsh knew visiting Walnut had a tendency to sneak back into games.

Walnut came back to defeat host La Canada in a wild-card matchup but Walsh had his team ready as the Royals scored quickly and finished the Mustangs 11-6 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills.

``We heard about their game against La Canada,'' said Walsh about the Mustangs' 10-7 win Tuesday. ``We wanted to make sure we put them away early.''

The Royals (21-5) scored the game's first five goals, four by senior Kristyn Ross, before Walnut (13-8) scored with 1:34 remaining in the first half.

Ross finished with seven goals to extend her single-season record to 106 and frequently made the Mustangs look helpless.

``Her shooting percentage is way up this year,'' Walsh said. ``She used to look opposite of where she was shooting. Now she just puts it away quickly.''

Louisville senior goalkeeper Kasey O'Connor didn't give Walnut any breaks either, saving a season-high 17 shots with seven steals - and at one point in the fourth period, denying three attempts in succession.

``I couldn't remember what I was thinking (during the saves),'' O'Connor said. ``But afterwards, I thought, 'Did that just happen?' ''

Melisa Lopez was the Royals' second-leading scorer with two goals and Maria Apablasa and Heidi Carlson each had one.

Alex Burros led Walnut with two goals.

Louisville, ranked eighth in CIF, visits top-ranked Whittier on Tuesday.

Nate Brown, [phone]

nate.brown(at)dailynews.com