Fillies hold off improving Hawks
Fifteen minutes before Tuesday's girls water polo match up at Hoffman Estates, Barrington coach Mark Markwell stood by the side of the pool and warned not to expect the same Hawks squad as the one his team faced nearly five weeks earlier.
Basically, he was saying, forget the 15-3 defeat the Fillies handed Hoffman on March 13.
After watching Barrington's 10-6 Mid-Suburban West victory, it appears that the Hawks, although they haven't forgotten about their slow start, have definitely moved past it.
"Earlier this year we were a little frustrated," said first-year Hoffman Estates coach Carrie Koch. "We would practice the same things over and over and it came to games and we didn't pull them off. But they know that the potential is there."
It took Hoffman (3-18, 1-6) all of 49 seconds to showcase that potential on Tuesday as junior Michelle Allen fought off a defender, spun and fired in a left-handed shot from 2 meters.
Junior Katie Simmons nearly held the Fillies to single-digit scoring for the second consecutive division game (Barrington defeated Conant 8-7 on April 10), stopping several shots from point-blank range. The right-hander, who played for Koch the past two years on JV, can thank her recent success to a recent style change.
"Earlier in the season she would lean across her body to block shots on the left side with her right hand, but she's gotten away from that," Koch said. "She's playing really, really well."
With Simmons making 4 of her 8 saves in the opening seven minutes, it took the defending MSL champs (12-5, 6-1) nearly 4:30 to score. Senior Lindsey Meyer tracked down a rebound miss and countered Simmons' save with an assist to junior Andrea Scardino (2 goals).
"Andrea Scardino stood out today big time," Markwell said of the first-year varsity player. "The last week she has come along more than she had the first few weeks."
Megan Clampitt wasn't too bad, either. As one of four returning players from last season's state-qualifiers, the junior scored a hat trick in less than three minutes of the third quarter after Hoffman's Allison O'Halloran (3 goals) trimmed the Fillies' lead to 6-3.
"We have a lot of sophomores, like Victoria (Waring) … and they're doing really good for being their first year on varsity," said Clampitt, referring to the 16-senior gap the Fillies have had to fill this season.
Jenna Nagle scored twice, while Sara Fogle, Chelsea Simon and Waring each tallied 1 goal for Barrington.
Justine Samek added 2 second-half goals for Hoffman, while O'Halloran, playing for her third varsity coach in three seasons, is starting to see some consistency from the Hawks.
"It was definitely better than the last time we played (Barrington)," said O'Halloran, an Illinois-bound senior. "We're definitely improving."
Something that hasn't been lost on the opposition.
"I've got to give their coach credit and the girls," Markwell said. "When they ran their plays they were good, and they hit the right spots."