Hersey nets first MSL title game appearance
Hersey scored twice in the first period and twice in the third, which was more than enough to claim a key girls water polo victory 4-1 at Buffalo Grove on Tuesday.
The Bison got their only goal in the third quarter from Sarah Morosan, as goalkeeper Natalie Curtis and Hersey’s defense helped bring the Huskies a share of the MSL East title. It’s the program’s first divisional championship.
The victory puts Hersey in the Mid-Suburban League championship game, which will be hosted by Barrington on May 1. Wheeling will meet Fremd in the MSL’s second-place crossover.
Both Hersey and Wheeling finished with 9-1 records in Mid-Suburban East play. But Hersey had an 8-5 edge in total goals from their head-to-head matchups.
Karolina Szymaszek, Emily Goldsberry, Katie Lutz and Katie Lindholm had the goals for Hersey.
Asked about her team’s ability to limit opponents’ scoring this season, Hersey coach Megan Brownley said, “For one, it helps to have a fabulous goalie like Natalie Curtis. She and our primary hole defender (Jill Hoffman) really work well together to take away that part of the game.
“And then it’s just a commitment on the part of the rest of the girls,” said Brownley. “We approach it like, ‘Goals are nice, but defense wins game.’ ”
Wheeling, meanwhile, scoring 4 goals in the fourth quarter to pull out a 9-8 victory at Elk Grove on Tuesday.
Theresa Godlewski and Kat Dobrowski had 3 goals apiece for Wheeling (13-10). Kathryn Noonan (3 goals) and Alexa Zajac (2) led the way for Elk Grove (12-10, 3-6).
Fremd 13, Barrington 12 (OT): The visiting Vikings denied Barrington a perfect run through the MSL West by edging the Fillies, who had already clinched the divisional title.
Sam DiCanio had 4 goals for Fremd (16-8, 8-2), and Samantha Barry and Breanna Anderson had 3 apiece.
Kelly Meckert had 5 goals and Lisa Danhauer 4 for the Fillies (19-3, 9-1).
Conant 11, Schaumburg 2: Carmen Rosas had 7 goals and Angela Skittone 3 to help the Cougars (11-15, 5-5) wrap up fourth place in the MSL West.
Palatine 15, Hoffman Estates 1: Junior Rachel Chumbook (7 goals), sophomore Caroline Wojtas (6), senior Bianca Castaneda (1) and senior Emily Seidl provided the offense for Palatine while its junior goalkeeper Kim Butler came up with 15 saves.
Jessica Sullivan had the goals for Hoffman.
The Pirates improved to 16-10 overall and 6-4 in the MSL West, good for third place and the top divisional finish in the program’s history.