Stevenson edges Mundelein to earn state water polo berth

The emotion nearly overtook Stevenson senior Jamie Clark after the Patriots defeated Mundelein 8-7 in an IHSA boys water polo sectional final Saturday at Vernon Hills.

"I was about ready to bawl like a baby," Clark said. "We worked hard the whole season and it came together at the right time."

Stevenson was 0-2 against Mundelein in the regular season, and the Mustangs began the third meeting with a blistering start.

Mike Mihel, Ricky Lukacs and Pat Falconer scored goals in the first three minutes, forcing a Stevenson timeout.

But the Patriots did not panic, and that more than anything allowed them to claw back into the match.

"Mundelein has great competitors and we knew they would get out fast," said Clark, who scored a team-high 3 goals. "You rely on momentum in this game, and we knew we had to get at least 1 goal before the end of the first quarter and then try to win the second quarter. We couldn't get ahead of ourselves."

Clark tallied once in the first quarter and again in the second, as the Patriots worked their back and only trailed 4-3 at halftime.

Lukacs played a tremendous third quarter, scoring twice to help put Mundelein ahead 6-5. The Mustangs earned a penalty shot with 0.52 seconds left in the quarter, but Lukacs' skip shot sailed over the crossbar.

"When he missed that (shot), it was pretty big mentally for the guys," Stevenson coach Sean Wimer said.

Lukacs already had picked up two ejections, and he was called for his third ejection early in the fourth quarter.

"Ricky's their best player and when he came out that changed the whole complexion of the game," Wimer said.

Lukacs, a four-year varsity player, scored 4 goals. Like always, the matchup between Lukacs and Stevenson's Greg Spigelman was intense.

"I respect Ricky a lot, and he had some good drives on me," Spigelman said. "Once he got his second ejection, I went straight at him and tried to take him out of the game."

The teams traded goals in the fourth quarter. Stevenson's Sean Madden tied the score 7-7 with 4:18 remaining.

Spigelman scored what proved to the game winner with 3:00 remaining.

"I didn't think much about the shot at the time," he said. "We just went back to the center and kept playing."

Mundelein had a shot hit the crossbar at the 1:05 mark, but that was its last good scoring chance.

Stevenson, the host school for the IHSA state tournament, advances to a Thursday state quarterfinal.

The Mustangs have one of the area's best fan bases, and they were greeted to a standing ovation from their fans when they walked out of the locker room. As the Stevenson players exited, the Mundelein fans and players demonstrated a great deal of class by clapping for the Patriots.

Mundelein finished the season with a 23-9 record. The Mustangs won a conference title and placed first at the Lake County Invitational.

"We can't hang our heads too much," said Mundelein coach Rahul Sethna. "We knew in one game it could go either way. It doesn't change the fact that we had a great season."

Although Stevenson's 17-14 record isn't overly impressive at first glance, the Patriots play one of the state's toughest schedules.

"The boys worked hard all season and it was great that it came to fruition," Wimer said. "I don't think the guys were ready right away, but once they woke up they were monsters."