Water polo: Stevenson, Naperville Central meet in postseason tuneups

A second chance and a second life, if you will.

That's what boys and girls water polo teams are looking forward to as records are thrown out the window and everyone starts anew when sectional action begins next week.

And in what served as a nice tune-up on Saturday afternoon in Lincolnshire, host Stevenson and Naperville Central duked it out once again as both look primed for yet another deep run in the upcoming state series.

• In the boys action, in what could very well be a preview to a state title contest in a couple of weeks, Stevenson had the upper hand in coming away with a hard-fought 8-7 victory to stay unbeaten at 30-0.

The Pats trailed 4-3 at halftime but tied it up 6-6 in the fourth. Then junior attacker Collin Kapecki punched in what turned out to be the game-winner with 2:28 left in regulation. Junior driver Eric Osuch added an insurance goal to make it 8-6 with 32 seconds left.

"Perseverance and playing all four quarters, and keep attacking," said Kapecki, who ended up with 4 goals in the game. "We just need to work on our team defense and our communication as we move into the playoffs."

Stevenson won the event by finishing 3-0.

In a 16-9 victory over Lincoln-Way Central, Andrew Shashin popped in 5 goals while Dan Maleski added 4. Nik Eberling (6 saves) and Charlie Day (3 saves) split time in goal.

In its final match of the day, Stevenson outlasted a stingy Neuqua Valley team 16-8. Shashin went nuts with 7 goals while Kapecki, junior Justin Ginsberg, and senior Ryan Ginsberg each scored twice. Day registered 2 saves and Eberling 1.

For the defending state champion Redhawks, Luke Klein-Collins and Matt Reagan both scored twice while keeper Kent Emden stopped 9 shots in the battle with Stevenson.

"Stevenson always plays tough," said Redhawks assistant coach Andy Doyle. "It gave us a chance to work on some things. We're confident though. There's no guarantees but we're looking forward to the playoffs."

Naperville Central, ranked third in the state, went 2-1 in the event and improved to 23-5 overall. The Redhawks will compete in the Neuqua Valley sectional.

In a 16-5 win over Neuqua Valley, Klein-Collins had a hat trick and six other players had 2 goals apiece.

Klein-Collins punched in 4 more goals and Dominic May had a hat trick while Emden stopped 7 shots in a 12-1 victory over Lincoln-Way Central.

Lincoln-Way Central (16-14) went 1-2 in the event while Neuqua Valley was 0-3 and slipped to 13-15 overall.

• In the girls' marquee matchup, Naperville Central prevailed against Stevenson 11-10 in overtime. It was the Patriots' first loss to an Illinois team this spring.

"Obviously a big win, but we were exhausted after that game," said Redhawks coach Jeff Plackett, whose girls are ranked second in the state behind Stevenson but won the event by going 3-0.

Naperville Central (28-2) will be compete in the Neuqua Valley sectional, while both Stevenson teams will be at Deerfield. Stevenson then will host the state finals in two weeks.

Redhawks senior attacker Emily Rogers scored the hat trick, and her final tally was the game-winner.

"That was a breakout moment for Emily. She's been doing everything right," said Plackett.

Emily Westlove, Rylee Brower, and Alli Hansen each scored twice while keeper Sara Campbell stopped 5 shots.

In a 16-4 win over Lincoln-Way Central, Brower erupted for 7 goals while Charlotte Albright complemented her with a hat trick. Campbell (7 saves) and Maria Gabrielli (1 save) split time in goal.

Then, in a 19-5 victory over DuPage Valley Conference rival Neuqua Valley, 11 players scored - including Campbell, on a three-quarters-pool shot. She stopped 8 shots.

Sophomore attacker Emily Wagner scored had 4 goals and sophomore center Jenny Desch and Brower each recorded hat tricks.

Stevenson finished 2-1 in the event and improved to 28-2 to close out the regular season.

In the Naperville Central game, Pats junior attacker Claire Haas scored 5 goals and senior driver Julia Nicholson added 3 goals and 5 steals. Senior attacker Fiona Gaffney also scored twice, collected 4 steals, and drew 3 huge penalty shots, and junior attacker Eileen Hoang dished out 2 assists and had 7 steals.

"Naperville Central is a great team. We had some golden opportunities, but then again so did they," said Pats coach Jeff Wimer. "Both really want to beat each other and we could very well meet up at the end. It's one game at a time, though."

Keeper Anna Mossakowski racked up 9 tough saves in the losing effort.

Stevenson opened the day with a 16-9 victory over Lincoln-Way Central.

Haas did her thing to the tune of 7 goals, while Gaffney, Hoang, and Nicholson scored twice. Single goals were recorded by sophomores driver Kalista Tapas, Lauren Maloney and freshman Shreya Sreedhar. Gaffney also had 3 assists and 4 steals and Mossakowski stopped another 9 shots in goal.

In Stevenson's final contest, junior Bella Greenspan's hat trick led the way as eight players scored in a 12-3 victory over Neuqua Valley. Mossakowski was busy in goal with 10 saves.

Lincoln-Way Central finished 1-2 in the tournament while improving to 26-4 overall. Neuqua Valley went 0-3 on Saturday and fell to 5-20.