Never-say die Fremd rallies to win in sudden death
The signature match of the quarterfinal round of the WIAA girls state water polo tournament was supposed to be Fenwick vs. St. Ignatius.
As it turned out, those teams had a near-impossible act to follow.
Fremd rallied from a 4-1 first-quarter deficit and captured a 9-8 double overtime victory over Lyons Township on Thursday at Stevenson.
The Vikings advanced to a state semifinal against No. 1 Fenwick at 9 a.m. Saturday. Undefeated Fenwick moved on with an easy 11-3 victory in the second quarterfinal of the day.
Lyons Township (27-4) and Fremd (27-3) each scored twice in the first overtime session, which consists of a pair of three-minute periods. In sudden death, senior Allison McCarthy took a pass from senior Katie French and poured in the winning goal.
"I was able to spin off a girl in the middle and Katie passed it high to me," said McCarthy, who scored four times. "I knew that if I rolled off she wouldn't come after me that fast. I just kind of chucked it up there and crossed my fingers. When I heard the screams from the stands, it was the most amazing feeling I've had playing water polo."
McCarthy's goal with 43.78 seconds left in regulation tied the score at 6-6 and forced overtime.
In the first extra session, French came through with a pair of game-tying goals. Her first one was on a backhanded shot that took the Lions' defense by surprise.
"A backhand shot is kind of unpredictable, but at the same time I tell them if they have it to go for it," coach Brian Newby said.
With 10 seconds left, Fremd called a timeout to set up a play. French drew a foul outside of 5 meters and quickly lobbed a shot into the extreme right portion of the goal.
"I saw a hole in the right side of the net and decided to go for it," French said. "I knew I had a little time but not a lot."
Fremd junior Erika Lauraitis scored twice, and senior Katie DeFillipo tallied once. Lyons Township's Katie Doyle had a team-high 4 goals.
Fremd senior Kelli DiCanio came through with 9 saves. DiCanio and Fremd did not panic when the Vikings fell behind 4-1. The Vikings outscored the Lions 2-0 in the fourth quarter.
"She kept her composure and that's what a goalie needs to do," Newby said. "She did a great job of directing the team today."
After a special performance by his team, Newby said he knew early this had a chance to be a special season.
"This is the first team that I've had ask me to have morning practices three days a week the whole season," he said. "They have that type of dedication."