St. Ignatius eliminates Stevenson

Stevenson girls water polo coach Jeff Wimer is a straight shooter.

Always has been, always will be.

That was quite clear again as he discussed his team’s 9-3 loss to St. Ignatius in a state quarterfinal in the home water Friday afternoon.

“Their team is better,” Wimer said after the day’s first quarterfinal. “They played awesome defense against us.”

The Wolfpack didn’t allow a goal in the first and third quarters and owned a 6-1 advantage after three quarters.

Reigning state runner-up Stevenson (25-9) shot 3-for-28 from the watery field.

“Ouch,” said Wimer.

But what was somewhat soothing for the Pats was the effort of junior Alex Kanaris. She collected a team-high 5 steals and played stellar polo in front of standout senior goalkeeper Lisa Michalowski (14 steals).

“How awesome was Alex?” said Wimer.

Patriots senior Erin McCook scored 2 goals, with one coming on a 5-meter penalty shot at 5:38 of the fourth quarter. Kanaris had drawn the penalty.

Senior Tori St. John netted Stevenson’s other goal.

Stevenson’s last loss of the regular season was a 7-5 setback to St. Ignatius on April 24. The Pats entered Friday’s quarterfinal on an eight-game winning streak.

St. Ignatius (21-6-1) faces Naperville Central (32-2) today in a state semifinal at 11:30 a.m.

Senior Stephanie Fernandez paced St. Ignatius with 3 goals against Stevenson, and the winning keeper was senior Katie Murphy.

“Everything kind of clicked for us today,” said Wolfpack coach Michael Cashman, whose squad fell to Stevenson in a state semifinal a year ago.