Schaumburg stops Palatine
Schaumburg had seemingly taken control against Palatine in Wednesday's Barrington girls water polo sectional quarterfinals, with a 6-1 lead after the first half and a 10-4 lead after three quarters.
Then Palatine made things very interesting. A goal by Agnes Wojtas with 3:47 left pulled the Pirates within 10-6, and Katy Jo Peters scored to make it 10-7 with 3:00 to play.
Was Schaumburg coach Becky Wutz getting nervous?
"Yep," said Wutz. "But then, I'm always nervous."
It turned out that was as close as Palatine got, as Schaumburg won 11-7. The No. 4-seeded Saxons will meet top-seed Fremd (25-3), an 18-2 winner against Elk Grove, in a semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
"It was just nice to have our whole team out there together," said Wutz, who's had a hard time getting consistency to her lineup for a variety of reasons.
But all the key Saxons seniors contributed Wednesday - Danielle Kappel had 4 goals, Marissa Townsend had 3 and Nicole Mundie and Amanda Creevy had 2, including the final tally to finally give Schaumburg (7-16) some breathing room. And all-MSL goalkeeper Jackie Sumsky turned away 11 shots to help limit Palatine's scoring.
Although the loss was disappointing for No. 5 seed Palatine (6-17), the season marked a big improvement for coach Brittany Reetz's team. The Pirates had just 1 win in the previous season, and aside from one-sided losses to Fremd and Barrington, Palatine was competitive against all its opponents this spring.
"I thought we played pretty well," said Reetz. "We knew coming in it would be tough against Schaumburg."
Though the Pirates lose all-conference choice Wojtas, Reetz is hoping for starters to return in at least three other positions. Courtney Bartz led the way for Palatine with 2 goals; other scorers included Courtney Walocha, Cyndi Bergloff and Paige Wainwright.
• Megan Clampitt had 7 first-period goals as No. 2 seed Barrington shot out in front of No. 7 seed Conant and stayed there in a 22-6 victory. The Fillies will face No. 3 seed Hoffman Estates, a 16-8 winner over Rolling Meadows, in Friday's second semifinal at 5:45 p.m.
Vernon Hills sectional: Third-seeded Wheeling rolled into the semfinals with a 12-4 victory over Deerfield. The MSL East champs will meet Mundelein, a 9-0 winner against Buffalo Grove, in semifinal play at 5:45 p.m. Friday.
Glenbrook North sectional: Prospect advanced with a 12-6 victory over Hersey, but St. Viator was eliminated in a 14-1 loss to top seed Loyola. The No. 4 seed Knights (16-10) will face Loyola in a semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Friday.