Stevenson 16, Fremd 7

Stevenson senior Rebecca Shopiro had a plan for Friday's IHSA water polo state quarterfinal against Fremd.

"I definitely (wanted) to get more involved on offense," she said.

Why?

"It's state," she said simply.

Shopiro put together a memorable offensive performance -- scoring 6 goals -- to help the Patriots cruise to a 16-7 victory at their home pool.

Stevenson (28-6) will meet Fenwick (26-4) at 11:30 a.m. today in a state semifinal.

Shopiro scored 2 goals in less than 30 seconds midway through the second quarter to stake the Patriots to a 6-1 advantage. Senior Rachel Cliburn had both of the assists.

"We know each other's game so well," Cliburn said. "She was open and I was able to get her the ball."

The Patriots led 9-2 at halftime and were never threatened. Although Fremd (26-2) had the better record, Stevenson had played a much tougher schedule.

Fremd's top two scorers against the Patriots, Erika Lauraitis (3 goals) and Katie French (2 goals) are a sophomore and junior, respectively.

"We had very good patience on offense today," said Patriots coach Jeff Wimer. "Our offense fed our defense."

Cliburn and senior Amy Michelau each scored 3 goals. Junior Katie Moy had 2 goals and played one of her better matches this season.

"She's leaps and bounds ahead of where she was last year," Wimer said. "She had good ball awareness and was able to slide into the open gaps."

Although she wasn't tested that much, junior goalkeeper Janelle Bartman came through with a big save at the start of the match. Fremd would have led 1-0 if Bartman hadn't blocked a shot from close range.

"We have so much confidence in her," Shopiro said.

Fenwick advanced to the state semifinals by defeating Homewood-Flossmoor 10-4. All 4 of the Friars' losses this season came against out-of-state teams.

Stevenson fell 9-4 to Fenwick on March 13 and lost 14-6 later that month. The second meeting came during spring break and Stevenson was not at full strength.

Almost two months later, the Patriots believe they are a different team

"Our girls are excited," Wimer said. "We're looking forward to the challenge."