Girls water polo: Team focus is serving Mundelein
It could be a motivational or inspirational video, or simply a quick chat from head coach Mike Vukovics.
Whatever it is, it's a team thing - and it's working.
"We're even trying some meditation next week," the second-year coach said after his Mundelein girls water polo team put the finishing touches on crosstown rival Libertyville 15-5 on Thursday evening in North Suburban Conference action in Mundelein.
"The girls are really buying into the team-first aspect. If we have the right mindset going into a game or competition, it helps inspire us and gets us ready to compete."
Senior attacker and George Washington University commit Abbie Lukas has certainly witnessed first-hand the change in culture during her standout career.
"I saw everyone starting to come together from my freshman to sophomore year and it's kept building," said Lukas, after leading the way with 8 goals against the Cats. "And now, it's amazing how close we are and that it's a team with everyone contributing."
Lukas and her running mate, junior attacker Ella Krauss, got Mundelein (8-5, 1-0) going early as both had hat tricks in the first period.
Senior attacker/defender Amanda Garcia and freshman utility Adry Kasemets added single goals as Mundelein jumped ahead 8-0 after the opening period.
Krauss regularly scores, but her defense perhaps stands out the most.
"She's been huge defensively for us," noted Vukovics of Krauss, who ended up scoring another goal in the second, but more importantly held Libertyville leading scorer Anna Heard without a goal. Krauss also dished out 7 assists to accompany 5 steals.
"When her and Abbie are both on, we're tough to beat," Vukovics said.
Besides the lone goal by Krauss, Lukas poured in 5 more second-quarter scores to help build a 14-2 halftime cushion.
"We had trouble doing a lot of things tonight," said Cats third-year coach Tracy Balla, whose girls are going through some growing pains after slipping to 2-7 overall and 0-2 in the league.
"This was a great game, going against a strong, clean defensive team like Mundelein," Balla said.
The Cats ended the shutout when senior attacker Michaela Olsen slipped one past Mustang sophomore keeper Hannah Stanley (6 saves) with 2:31 left in the second.
Olsen ended up scoring again in the second and finished with 4 goals for the game. Senior attacker Hayden Marth also found the scoring column in the fourth quarter for Libertyville, which competes in the Fremd tournament this weekend.
"We're really young. We lost three key seniors and have a lot of sophomores and juniors," Balla said. "Our record doesn't reflect the strength of the team. But we're learning a lot and have been in some close games."
Libertyville junior keeper Katie DeAcetis (9 saves) has been solid in goal this spring.
"She played JV last year and has really been a difference-maker for us," noted Balla.