BG water polo likes its new look
With Shayna Mortensen moving over from Wheeling and taking over as head coach this season, Buffalo Grove senior Alicia Hanner had her doubts.
"I was really close to my old coach (Tom Mroz) -- he was really great with all of us," Hanner said of last season's Palatine sectional coach of the year. "When I met (Coach Mortensen) it was, 'Oh, we'll see.' But she's been really great with us. There's a chemistry we never knew we could have."
And Tuesday night was another positive bonding experience as Mortensen and the host Bison (6-3, 3-1) defeated Wheeling 4-2 in the Mid-Suburban League East.
"There's some girls on (Wheeling) that I coached for three years, so sure, it's a little mixed feelings," said Mortensen, decked out in a blue-and-white 'Buffalo Grove Water Polo' hooded sweatshirt.
One of those is all-conference goaltender Lindsey Mills.
"It was difficult because (Buffalo Grove) is down the street, but other than that, it wasn't too bad," Mills said of Mortensen leaving.
Buffalo Grove made it a tough 28 minutes for Mills (17 saves), peppering the Wheeling senior with a barrage of shots.
"We were taking a lot more shots on goal, so they just need to connect," said Mortensen, whose team hosts Hersey on Thursday. "With other goalies I think they'll connect a lot easier."
BG broke through with 4:29 left in the first quarter as Steph Gates' shot from 7 meters whizzed past Mills into the left corner.
Wheeling (4-3, 3-1) showed its first real spark 9:47 into the match as sophomore Amy Wilson set up 5 meters in front of BG goalie Jess Lunduin (7 saves) and shook the back of the net.
"She's now become really physical and aggressive and she's a great goal scorer," Wheeling coach Bob Savitt said of the first-year varsity hole set. "I'm so proud of her."
The same cannot be said of every aspect of Wheeling's performance on Tuesday. With the game tied at 1-1 in the final four minutes of the first half, the Wildcats let a 6-on-5 advantage slip away without a shot fired on goal. BG countered at even-strength as Becky Schmidly and Hanner scored 22 seconds apart.
"Today we just came back from spring break and we just lacked intensity," said Wilson, who added her second goal in the third quarter.
Hanner scored her second goal 43 seconds into the fourth on a backhand flip from 5 meters out.
"Actually, that's my favorite shot," she said. "We don't usually practice them ever, so when I get the chance in a game, I take it."
The Wildcats will take another shot at the Bison and their former coach on April 21 when they host BG.