Fenwick turns away Stevenson's late rally

Absolutely nothing was easy for the Stevenson girls water polo team during the first three quarters Saturday in its 11-8 state semifinal loss to Fenwick.

Although Stevenson trailed 11-2 going into the final quarter, the Patriots were confident they could cut into their deficit.

"We're a very mentally tough team," coach Jeff Wimer said. "The kids (knew) the game was not over. They still had fight in them."

Sure enough, senior Rebecca Shopiro responded with a goal just 11 seconds into the fourth quarter.

"We needed a kick in the butt," Shopiro said about the quick score. "They were sloughing off and giving me space.

As Fenwick began substituting, the Patriots continued to capitalize. They closed the score to 11-8 on a goal by senior Rachel Cliburn in the final minute, and the Friars were forced to take a pair of timeouts.

"I'm just disappointed we didn't do that from the start," Shopiro said. "We played well at (the end) and brought back some respect."

Shopiro and Cliburn led Stevenson's attack with 3 and 2 goals, respectively. Seniors Amy Michelau, Liesl Schubel and Kelly Lowry also tallied.

"We tend to start slow and pick it up," Michelau said. "The fourth quarter was awesome."

For most of the match, Fenwick (27-4) demonstrated why it had not lost to a team from Illinois this season. The Friars maximized every opportunity and never let Stevenson (28-7) get comfortable on offense.

Junior Morgan Bonk led the way with 5 goals. Juniors Lisett Calderon and Katie Tynan each scored 3 goals.

"They're so fundamentally sound," Wimer said. "They're a young team but very experienced."

This was just the Patriots' second loss since April 2. Stevenson won 15 of its final 16 regular-season games. The stretch included a 7-6 triple-overtime victory against Mother McAuley.

"The girls were respectful, nice and they worked hard," Wimer said. "This is one of the most fun groups of kids that I've coached."