Redhawks reach semifinals

The Naperville Central girls water polo team drew the fourth and final IHSA state quarterfinal Thursday.

The girls arrived at Stevenson High School a little after 5 p.m. Since the first quarterfinal went to double overtime, they had to wait almost four hours to play their match.

"You get antsy watching, but that pumps you up even more," junior Claire Fleming said. "We were more than ready to start."

When the match finally arrived, the Redhawks dominated Lincoln-Way East. Naperville Central scored the opening five goals and rolled to a 15-7 victory.

The Redhawks (30-2) will play Loyola Academy (24-9-1) at 10:15 a.m. Saturday at Stevenson in a state semifinal. Loyola Academy won its quarterfinal 7-6 over Stevenson.

"We were very focused from the beginning," senior Haley Nelson said. "We wanted to play four strong quarters."

Nelson scored 6 goals and Fleming added 5 goals as both came through with dominating performances. Nelson also had 8 steals.

"The last goal Haley scored she must have muscled through two girls," Naperville Central coach Jeff Plackett said. "I turned to my assistant and said, 'That's Haley.' Claire is so consistent and (loves) the big-game atmosphere."

Plackett said he wanted the Redhawks to play aggressive and take chances.

"It was two counterattacking teams playing one another, and we told the girls if they want to swim let's go ahead and do it," he said. "There's no question that's a real strength of our team."

Lincoln-Way East junior Alyssa Toland scored a team-high 4 goals. The Griffins (25-9) were at their best in the third quarter, outscoring Naperville Central 3-1.

For Naperville Central, senior Emily Wooten, junior Tori Davis and freshmen Abbey Kerth and Emily Sejna each scored once. Kerth played set for most of the game.

"She sits in front of the net and is all-day tough," Plackett said.

Naperville Central did not play Loyola Academy in the regular season. At the state tournament last year the Redhawks defeated Loyola Academy 11-8 in the quarterfinals.

"Their style is relatively similar to ours," Plackett said. "Loyola has a very good team, but our girls are competitive and I know we'll be ready."