Plenty of fun for Neuqua Valley girls water polo team

Neuqua Valley girls water polo coach Lenny DePasquale was satisfied with the offensive effort his squad put forth in Wednesday's 15-2 sectional quarterfinal win over St. Charles East.

His defense and his goalkeeper made him pretty happy, too.

"Our defense has really been strong for the majority of the season, and this was one of Danielle Cirrintano's better performances of the year," DePasquale said. "She got some experience last year as a sophomore, and she keeps getting better."

"That was fun," said Cirrintano, after posting 23 saves against the Saints. "I was put in goal freshmen year, and I've loved it ever since."

Second-seeded Neuqua Valley (10-12) got 4 goals from Jeanette Nolte, and 2 apiece from Callie Young, Jennifer Nehls, Shianne Gillespie, Tricia Bannister and Chelsea Pesesky in the win.

"Jeanette is our leading scorer, but it's really been a team effort every game," DePasquale said. "We always have a couple girls getting 2 or 3 goals a game."

Neuqua grabbed a 6-0 lead after a quarter before St. Charles East held the Wildcats to 2 goals in the second. Juliet Suess posted both of the Saints' goals on the night, getting 1 in the second quarter.

With an 8-2 lead in the third quarter, Neuqua rattled off 4 back-handed goals to effectively bury the Saints. Bannister started the roll with backhanders, followed by Nolte and Jordan Julius.

"We had the backhands going, and we knew there'd be an opportunity for us to try that today," DePasquale said.

The Saints finished the season with a 6-6 record, leaving coach Maureen Sheahan happy with another step forward for the program.

"It's only our third year as a varsity sport, and we're improving," she said. "Last year we only won two games, the year before we won one, so this year was a great improvement.

"Neuqua is very strong in the water. My girls weren't as strong, but they tried, and they worked well as a team this year."

DePasquale applauded the play of Nolte and Gillespie, and wants to see his squad sharpen their shooting for Friday's semifinal game against Naperville North.

"We had very good scoring opportunities, but I wish we'd finish on a few more of those," DePasquale said. "We're overshooting just a little bit. We're creating opportunities, and now we just have to take it to the next level."

"Hopefully, we can take them," Cirrintano said of Naperville North. "Audrey Chien is a good shooter, but hopefully we'll keep playing tight defense."